Facade
by platinum-breaker
Summary: Conan did not expect Ran to suddenly corner him one day.
1. Chapter 1

" _Ran-neechan, are you okay?"_

* * *

Conan noticed that Ran has been acting weird lately. Of course he noticed these _subtle_ (—yeah right) changes on her expressions because _psh, it's not like he knew her for around 13 years, eh?_

 _Well, that was Shinichi but whatever. His body's the only thing that has changed, not the mind._

Anyway, there were times that Ran's face would look troubled—like she was thinking about something deeply _and it eerily reminded him of his thinking face_.

 _(Nope, he wasn't entranced at the sight at all, nope. Really._

 _And he definitely didn't take a picture. Totally. Nope._ _)_

Also, there were times that she has this very determined look in the face which he normally saw whenever Ran's fighting with karate. But then it immediately deflates into a defeated stance which ends up with a heavy sigh. It happens multiple times a day but Conan just dismissed it as something related to schoolwork or karate. Finals has just finished anyway.

Or maybe it was about her drunkard of a father— although Ran can totally deal with the lazy bum with her fists.

Conan just hoped that Ran will return to her old self soon.

But then days turned into weeks and he noticed that Ran was still the same— the frowns were getting deeper, the knots in between her brows were getting evident and her eyes were still somber, losing its usual spark as she talks with other people.

And then Conan finally decided that he's had enough.

He has to know why Ran was acting differently.

.

.

.

 _Actually_ , he might know the reason because he saw Ran clutching her cellphone tightly above her chest during these episodes.

' _Of course, it's about Shinichi. But it's not like we're not talking over the phone… Gah, I better fix this. I'm going to snoop around a bit as Conan first before calling her as Shinichi. She's better off smiling, anyways…'_

"Ran-neechan, are you okay?"

"Eh Conan-kun? I'm feeling alright, why did you ask?"

"You've been smiling less and less recently…" Conan frowned. "And it has been bothering me because Ran-neechan is always smiling…"

Ran's eyes were wide with the boy's observation. "Conan-kun…"

"Is it because of Shinichi-niichan? Is he being stupid again?"

Ran laughed at the boy's 'stupid' comment.

"Oh Conan-kun, you're so sweet! But you don't have to worry about Ran-neechan. Also about Shinichi, you know how crazy he is about cases so he'll come around whenever he has the time. Stupid, mystery freak."

' _Well, sorry about that...'_

"Hmm, but maybe I'll call him right now just to check up on him. Great idea, right?" Ran winked and fished her phone out of her pocket.

Conan was suddenly in panic and tried to get away from Ran as soon as possible so that he could take her call.

' _OF ALL THE TIMES—'_

"A-Ah Ran-neechan!" Conan's voice reached an octave higher because of nervousness. "Actually, I need to—"

"Ah don't worry, I know. You forgot something at Agasa-hakase's house, right? It's alright. Just come home before dinner, okay?"

"O-okay…?"

"You must be wondering how I figured it out. Geez, it's written all over your face. Also whenever I call Shinichi, you're being like this so I got used to it!"

"A-Ah, is that so?"

"Yes. So take care, Conan-kun! I'll go call Shinichi now, okay? Say hi to Agasa-hakase for me."

"Okay, Ran-neechan! Also tell Shinichi-niichan that he should stop worrying you so much! A-And sorry I wasn't able to make you happy again since _I am not Shinichi-niichan_ but I think this will do for now!" Conan motioned Ran to kneel so that she would level with him. And then in a moment, Ran felt something wet and warm on her left cheek. She blinked, as if discerning whether it really happened or not but as she was about to ask, Conan was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence of his escape was the shutting sound of the Agency's door.

"D-Did he just..."

Ran blushed and then sighed.

"This is going to be hard…"

She dialed Shinichi's phone number.

' _Sorry, but I need to do this…'_

* * *

Conan lied.

He did not go to Hakase's house. He was just leaning against the wall beside the door of the Detective Agency, because sometimes, the best way to hide is to be close to the seeker.

Setting that aside, he was really, really red in the face.

' _I-I-I really did that… but if that gives her a little bit of comfort then it's fine…'_

He prepared his voice-changing bowtie to imitate Shinichi's voice.

' _Her cheeks were so soft though…'_

His Shinichi phone vibrated in his pocket.

' _But w_ _hat is this weird feeling I'm having…'_

* * *

.

.

.

"Hey Ran."

"…"

"Ran?"

"…"

"Oooooooi"

"I know where you are."

"Oi Raaan—Eh?"

"I said I know where you are."

"W-What?"

"Baka, are you deaf now?"

"Barou! It's just you're calling me and then you're suddenly like that… it kinda sounded creepy, you know?"

"Ah, is that so?"

"A-Ah maybe it's because of those weird moods? Conan-kun told me about what's happening to you the last time he called and asked me to help because he's worried about you… I was about to call you after I finish part of the case I'm working on."

"Ah, of course he will tell you, eh?"

' _S-Shit, is she..?'_

"Y-You know that kid. He's attached to you."

' _Why am I even stuttering?'_

"Yeah, he even kissed me before I made this phonecall to cheer me up."

Shinichi choked on his spit.

"Kah—Is that so?"

"Ara, you didn't know? I thought since Conan-kun did it, you'll immediately know what happened."

' _What?'_

"I didn't. It happened immediately before you called, right? So there was no time for him to call me at all. And it's not like we have some sort of telepathy thing going on. It's ridiculous, Ran."

"Ah, I see. _Of course, telepathy is impossible._ But aren't you jealous at all?"

' _Of course not, he's me—_ _'_

"Why? He's just a kid."

"Ooooh, I wonder. Sometimes I think that Conan-kun will be a better choice in the future~"

' _Oi, oi.'_

"Ran, please save yourself from being a pedo—"

"DON'T you even finish that sentence or else – and yep, you're definitely jealous."

"Raaaaan!"

Shinichi could basically _hear_ her smirk. He wondered where Ran's boldnesss was coming from.

' _Now s_ _he sounds like she's not having problems but of course, I know better than that.'_

"A-Anyway Ran, why did you call me?"

"I thought I told you already. I am saying that know where you are."

"Hmmm and where is that, Miss Detective?"

"Ara, I thought you already knew."

"Of course, barou. In a case far, far away, Mouri-san."

"I'm starting to doubt your deduction skills again, Kudo-kun."

"Oi! Wait, again—!?"

"London, idiot." Both blushed but Ran coughed and returned to the topic, "Anyway, do you want to hear my deductions about your whereabouts?"

Conan, still beside the Agency's door, is now sweating profusely.

' _As I've thought, I'm having a really bad feeling about this phone call.'_

"You still need to officially confirm my deductions about what's in your heart, Mouri-san." Shinichi was obviously stalling because he already knew about her feelings since forever.

"This phonecall is not about that!"

Shinichi snickered while picturing Ran shouting on her phone, red in the face. He could hear her whisper something about _'tell you next time', 'can't he just say it'_ and _'stupid detective freak'._

In any case, he should probably change his location before Ran suddenly finds him there and not on Agasa-hakase's house. So Conan took one step away from the door then—

"Don't you dare go away, Shinichi."

' _How did she even-?!'_

"W-whatever are you saying, Ran? I'm not even moving from my spot. So let's hear it then, your deduction."

"Uh uh. I just felt that you were about to leave from your spot." Shinichi sweatdropped. "About your location, actually, I'll just go straight to the point."

' _Okay Kudo, maybe Ran's just playing a prank on you. You don't really have any evidence that she's been suspecting you again. You haven't felt that penetrating gaze whenever she suspects you. So calm down and don't be an idiot. This is Ran, you should be able—no, NEED to protect your identity to keep her safe._

 _Even if it hurts so much…'_

Shinichi took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Alright."

"Right so I'm starting with this: I'm sure that you've been around my presence recently."

' _Haha is this even a direct approach?'_

"Oi, oi don't tell me you've decided that I became a ghost…"

"Stupid. Don't even joke about that. I meant that you've been physically around me for the past 24 hours."

"Sorry, sorry. But if I was just around, I should have talked to you, right?"

"Oh, but you did!"

"I… do not recall such conversation. I swear if Kaitou KID is masquerading as me again I'll—"

"Bzzzt. Maybe you forgot. Do you want me to refresh your memory?"

"Please do, Ran-sama."

Ran cleared her throat.

"I do recall that someone was trying to cheer me up because they felt that I was not feeling okay. I told them I was alright because I don't really want to worry them… but it was a lie. I have been holding back for the past year. Every time I get a lead, it vanishes and then I'm back to square one again."

' _Holy shit. Ran is getting scarily on point right now…and I do not like where this is heading.'_

"Ran…"

"So for the past weeks, I've done a lot of thinking you see? I thought maybe I was approaching this dilemma of mine the wrong way. Having you as a best friend ever since we were four really helped me. All of your ramblings about Holmes got stuck into my head and I just applied it into what I was thinking about. _Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth._ Right, Shinichi?"

Shinichi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

' _So Ran really…'_

"Right. So Mouri-san, what did you find out?"

Shinichi heard Ran sniff and he knew that she was about to cry.

' _Oh no…'_

"I-I… Shinichi…"

"Yes, Ran?"

"You claim that you have been away on a case making you unable to see me regularly, right?"

' _It's a case but…'_

"Yes."

"Then…" A single sob was heard from Ran's end, "Why are you lying to me?

"R-Ran…?"

"I'm sure that you're really working on a case but…"

"I-I—"

"But the truth is… you never left me alone, right?"

' _Ah.'_

"Ran…"

"That you were always beside me. That whatever case you've been working on is so troublesome because you have become helpless. You needed to accept help from people around you. You had to control yourself from being on the limelight because it was dangerous. You had to pretend a lot. That wasn't the usual you but for some reason, you threw away the glory and fame and became somebody else."

"That and according to Hattori-kun way, way back, you always knew how I was feeling during our phone calls. Sure, you might be able to detect my feelings through my voice but I always had a feeling that you also knew what I was doing off the phone."

There was a pregnant pause after Ran's statement, save for her sobs which she tried to suppress.

"Of course, Ran. I am a detective so I'll know. Especially if it's about you…"

"Even the greatest detective can't know everything, right? The timing of your phone calls always, always have the right timing. Whenever I feel bad or something, my phone suddenly rings. And you _always know—"_

"Evidence."

"Eh?"

"Ran, the most important thing to have to prove your deduction…" Shinichi gulped, praying to the heavens that this day won't get any worse. "…what's your evidence?"

At this, Conan was baffled when Ran choked a laugh.

"Did you really think I was deaf not to hear your voice behind that door?

' _Well fuck.'_

"Also, please check your voice."

' _Well, fucking shit. I didn't notice that I dropped the damn voice-changing bowtie!'_

"Oh yeah one more thing, I think I forgot to tell Conan-kun that we now have a CCTV camera near the door."

' _Triple kill…'_

Ran's giggles were heard while Conan was groaning over the phone in his failure to keep his identity hidden from the one and only person he can't risk knowing.

* * *

' _Fuck, Ran knows, she knows and she got me cornered I have no way out shit she's gonna open the door HOLY SHIT THE KNOB'S TURNING I CAN'T MOVE FROM MY SPOT—'_

Ran opened the door and smiled down at _Conan-kun._

"You know, Conan-kun's kiss was really cute."

Conan thought that she was saying that to Conan but she was still talking on the phone. _To Shinichi._

"…"

"So did you like it? I think I did."

Conan was trembling under Ran's kind gaze.

' _Wait— Kind… gaze?'_

"Ara, Conan-kun. You're here early. Come in?"

' _What?'_

"Conan-kun?"

' _Why is she acting like she did not just expose my well-hidden secret!?'_

"R-Ran…?"

"That's Ran-neechan for you, did you forget Conan-kun?" Ran wagged a warning finger in front of Conan's face, "So did you get what you forgot?"

' _Was it a dream?'_

"A-Ah! Yes Ran-neechan! I decided that I'll just go to Hakase's house next time."

"I see."

Conan shifted nervously on his feet under the merciful stare of his childhood friend slash sweetheart.

' _Ran… she's…'_

Ran pushed the 'End Call' button and placed her phone inside her pants pocket.

"...Ran-neechan, did Shinichi-niichan made you cry?"

The girl hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve and laughed softly into her hand.

"Ah, I think he did. Or not. I don't know. What do you think, Conan-kun?"

"I think… he's just being an idiot. Isn't he?"

"I think so, too! But it's fine since we're both being idiots now, ne?"

' _So this is her decision…'_

"But despite that, Shinichi-niichan's still the one who can make you smile the most, right?"

Ran did not miss the implication of the shrunken detective's statement.

' _I can never make you happy in this form, right?'_

She smiled and took Conan's hand.

"Do you want to go upstairs and help me with dinner? Otou-san will not be coming home because he's playing Mahjong again with the neighbors. Is curry alright? Ah also, I made some lemon pie for you earlier!"

Conan stared. He didn't really understand why Ran's being like this—ignoring the fact that she could actually confront him now and maul him into the streets and leave him to suffer there because of his lies.

She has the right. He preferred staying away from her than leading her into a definite death trap. It was enough that he was suffering alone in exchange for her safety so he lied continuously.

But today, Ran sealed the longest case that she has been on.

The case of the missing detective, Kudo Shinichi.

"Okay, Ran-neechan. That would be nice, thank you." The boy whispered.

Ran squeezed Conan's hand in acknowledgement.

"But don't forget to pick up your bowtie from the floor, alright?"

Conan did not miss the gleam on Ran's eyes and almost dropped to the floor _._

"Don't worry, I also deleted the footage."

Ran winked at Conan.

' _Yep. I was definitely exposed.'_

* * *

After the _weird_ confrontation— or confirmation rather— the two acted normally during dinner.

And the normalcy was freaking Conan out.

Ran was still serving him with a kind smile and wipes his face whenever something would get stuck on his face. It made Conan extra nervous because he doesn't have an idea on what Ran was thinking so he decided to help her prepare the food and wash the dishes afterwards to try calm her wrath even for a little bit.

Now they were just on Ran's room, sitting on her bed. The girl decided to invite Conan into her room because she wanted to _talk_ more with him.

Usually, it would make Conan happily flustered but considering the events that have transpired hours ago, he was... scared.

Also it didn't help that he noticed some broken mechanical pencils in her trash bin.

' _I wonder if I'm going to go after those..._ ' He gulped nervously as he averted his gaze from the trash bin. _'I'm sure that the Black Organization cannot take me down but Ran definitely CAN. SEE, SHE ALREADY LOCKED THE DOOR.'_

So to finish this once and for all, they need to have this talk right now.

"R-Ran-nee—"

"Conan-kun can make me happy in ways Shinichi can't so don't worry about not making me happy, ne?"

Conan was startled at the sudden statement.

"Conan-kun makes me very, very happy. Shinichi and Conan-kun makes me very happy."

"R-Ran..."

"So Conan-kun... please tell Shinichi that my decision has not changed. I will always wait for that idiot. No matter how long it will take... as long as he comes back to me."

"Ran—" The girl sealed the young boy's lips with her finger.

"Just promise me that you'll always be okay." At this, Ran's tears finally fell, her facade finally breaking. "I can't help it. You already know about my feelings and I can't help but worry about the most important person in the whole world for me. I-I'll do my best too so you should too, ne?" She removed the finger from his lips and smiled at Conan— Shinichi.

Conan's glasses gleamed. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of resignation. Tossing his eyeglasses on the bed, he looked up at the beautiful angel in front of him and smiled sadly.

"Thank you, Ran. And I'm sorry. Really, really sorry." Ran almost missed his soft voice— which is strikingly similar to the Shinichi that she knew— but the softening of her gaze implies that she got the message. "And... didn't I already promise that I will come back to you no matter what? So you don't have to worry."

Shinichi wasn't prepared to be tackled by an emotional Ran into the bed.

"Shinichi..." She sobbed. "Stupid. Shinichi— stupid mystery otaku!" She repeated the words over and over and Shinichi had no choice but to tightly grip the crying woman.

"Come on, stop crying. Also please stop crushing me..."

"Oh sorry!"

"Ah, I was kinda expecting a swat on the head because of my statement's implication..."

Ran was red in the face.

"Ara, do you want me to?"

Flat stare.

"No, thank you."

Silence.

"So you're not trying to do some trick to fool me again, eh?"

"Sorry..."

"No, no. That was a genuine question."

"...I guess this was what I've wanted since the beginning. Since nobody's able to interfere during that moment _unlike the other times_ , I just... let it happen." Shinichi clutched the blanket tightly. "Believe me when I say that you were the first one that I wanted to talk to but Agasa-hakase made me realize that I can't because it's too dangerous and you're too important to me and I love you so much I can't risk anything to risk your safety—"

"Shinichi."

"I really, really wanted to tell you because it was so hard pretending in front of you and I never kept secrets from you and you are my best friend and you are _my Ran_ —"

"Shinichi!"

"Sorry..."

Ran stroked Shinichi's hair, treading into the strands carefully to soothe the frustrated detective.

"No, no, don't apologize. I've thought about this over and over, on why you were doing this, and I figured out that whenever you hide things from me, it was to protect me from harm. I understand. That's really touching of you but..." Ran's hand fell from his head to his cheek and stroked it lightly. "I think you need to trust me more."

"No Ran— I trust you!"

"I know you trust me but you need to trust on my survival—"

"I just don't trust myself!"

Ran's eyes widened at Shinichi's outburst.

"I-I don't trust myself to stop being comfortable around you and not let my guard down! If I slip even for a little bit, everyone around me will definitely die! Especially you, Ran. I don't want that!" Shinichi was gripping his hair and his breaths were becoming ragged. "I...I needed to be _away_ and be Conan-kun, the cute little brother who freeloads in the Mouri household, to separate Kudo Shinichi from the world and his loved ones!—"

"—Shinichi! Shinichi!" Ran shook the panicking boy in her arms. It proved to be not effective so she took the shrunken high school detective in an embrace to soothe him. "Shhh. Shhh. You don't need to say anymore, I understand. I told you I understand. Please. Conan-kun, Shinichi, please come back to me, it's alright."

This was the first time that she saw Shinichi with a panicked expression. She never thought that the day when she's able to witness Shinichi's vulnerable moment would come. She never thought that her childhood friend would break down like this. Was he really that scared for her? He was always protecting her in the shadows and she didn't even know. She choked a sob while she tightened her grip to Shinichi.

' _Now that I know, I swear I'm going to protect him in ways that only I could.'_

Only the sounds of Shinichi's heavy breathing were heard in the room for a few minutes. It faded into a sigh as he burrowed his head deep into Ran's neck, seeking comfort in his love's arms.

"...Ran?"

"Yes, Shinichi?"

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Ran just smiled into Shinichi's hair. "Nothing. I just love you too much."

"I love you, too. Both of us. Conan and Shinichi both love you."

"Thank you."

"No, Ran. _Thank you._ "

Both smiled as they enjoyed the moment in each other's arms. After they've had enough, Ran broke the embrace.

"Now _Conan-kun_ , since you are a growing boy, you need to sleep now! So off to bed, _chiisana tantei-kun_!"

"Oh goodness, now she's teasing me..."

"What's that _Conan-kun_?" Ran's smile was menacing that Shinichi sweatdropped in fear.

"N-Nothing, Ran-neechan! I guess you're right!"

"So," She picked up his glasses and put it on Conan. "Go to your room now and sleep, okay?"

"Haaaai!" Shinichi noticed that Ran was trying so hard to hide her amusement in _Conan-kun's_ cheery attitude.

He just shot her a flat stare.

"Great, my girlfriend is not going to ever let all of these go."

"Of course~"

"Geh."

"Good night Conan-kun! Please tell Shinichi good night for me, too okay?"

"Good night, Ran-neechan! And Shinichi-niisan said that he hopes that you have good dreams tonight! That, and he'll call you before you sleep."

"Eh? Ah, oh alright! I have my phone with me so he can call when you get to your room, okay?"

"Okay! Bye!"

"Bye bye!"

* * *

"Are you not even going to ask what happened to me?"

"Hmm. I have a vague idea about it. You snooped around, got caught, shrunk and then boom, I got a little brother. Bad guys can't know where you are or else everyone will die. And now you're finding these bad guys to have them pay for their misdeeds!"

Shinichi sweatdropped at Ran's narration.

' _It's rough around the edges but... that's basically it.'_

"Do... do you want me to tell you?"

"Of course. So I think I'll listen to it when you finally come back to me for good. I know you'd tell me about it when the danger has already passed- or are you planning on keeping this from me forever?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Sorry, I was just kidding. But it's still dangerous, right? I know you. You can't spill the details until all of the mysteries were solved."

' _Yeah, she definitely knows everything about me.'_

"Thank you, Ran. I promise I will tell you _everything_ when the time comes. I might drop some hints along the way though because I don't think I can ever bear to lie to you again..."

"I understand. To be honest, you don't need to but I am thankful that you care about me a lot.

"I love you."

Ran heard this a while ago but this time, it had finally sunk into her and blushed furiously.

"A-Ah— I... uhm I—that was sudden. Gosh I thought I was over it but hearing it with your adult voice... And uhm, I-I love you, too."

Shinichi gulped.

"My heart is beating very fast right now."

"Mine too."

They laughed together to ride out their nervousness.

Silence.

"Also I feel very relieved right now."

"Me too."

More silence.

"I-It has been a long day s-so I think we should sleep now?"

"I-I think so too."

"Good night, Ran."

"Good night, Shinichi."

"I..."

"Hmm?"

"I love you. I-I just had to say it again since you told me about that and my voice and—"

Ran giggled.

"I love you, too!"

Shinichi smiled and closed his eyes.

' _I can never exchange Ran for anything else in the world.'_

The phone line went dead.

* * *

The childhood sweethearts put their phones on the side and slept with a big smile on their faces.

Tomorrow will be the start of an interesting adventure.

* * *

 **Okay I think I've said to myself before that I won't write fanfics anymore because I SUCK AT THEM and I'm better off drawing anyway but EH I WANTED THIS SCENARIO SO YES i tried so hard hahaha**

 **My first fanfic was dc and I was 14 and they were horrible oh my god i'm sorry**

 **So almost 10 years later, I hope this will be better haha. I have no beta so I'm pretty sure my tenses are all messed up so thank you for bearing with me.**

 **Anyway, some chapters will be added later on but I won't guarrantee the length lmao this isn''t really a serious fanfic with cases and stuff- this is more of their everyday lives or sth haha But I'm not really sure so yeah**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Time: 1 day after Ran found out the truth**

* * *

The scent of fried bacon wafted through Conan's senses as he entered the dining room. It was a school day so they had to wake up early although Kogoro was not awake yet. He knew Ran was cooking breakfast at the kitchen so he shouted a greeting before he entered the bathroom.

"Good morning, Ran-neechan!"

"Good morning, Conan-kun! Breakfast will be ready soon so wash your face first okay?"

"Haaai!"

Conan entered the bathroom and stepped onto the stool so that he could reach the sink _._

 _'This sucks, I don't even remember doing this when I was young...'_

And then Conan froze when he looked at the mirror.

 _'W-Wait... last night...'_

His eyes widened as he recalled the previous day's event.

"AAAH!"

"Conan-kun!?" Ran came barging into the bathroom with a spatula in her hand when she heard the boy's shout. "What happened!?"

Conan mechanically turned his head towards Ran. "S-So it wasn't a dream?"

Ran was staring blankly at him. She blinked several times and laughed. "Unfortunately for you, no."

"..."

"Come on, you dork. Finish your business already because breakfast is already served. I'll go wake up Otou-san now." Before she left, Ran dropped a kiss on Conan's forehead and then waved. "Hurry up, okay?"

Let's just say it took the poor flushing boy a few minutes before his brain worked again.

 _'That girl is going to be the end of me...'_

* * *

After helping Ran in putting away the dishes, Conan went back to his room to change his clothes. Then he grabbed his bag and found Ran waiting for him at the door.

"Let's go?"

"Hmm!"

They bid goodbye to Kogoro, _who was listening to the damn horse race on the radio again_ , and walked outside together. By instinct, Ran grabbed Conan's hand while walking so that he wouldn't get lost along the way. It was a little later when she realized that it was _Shinichi_ and she was holding hands with him _ohmygod—_

So she dropped Conan's hand like a piece of hot iron.

"S-Sorry!"

"Eh?" Conan blinked.

"I-it was a habit and uhm sorry uh—"

"Ran-neechan."

"—it was inappropriate of me to do that without your permission and it was embarrassing and I'm sorry—"

"Ran!"

"What!"

"It's fine. Ran-neechan can hold my hand whenever she wants."

"A-Ah?"

"So don't worry okay?" To prove his point, Conan grabbed Ran's hand and pulled her slightly to continue their walk.

"Ah if that's what you say..." She smiled and squeezed Conan's hand.

"Just relax, okay? We wouldn't want everyone to find out about _our_ secret..." Conan whispered.

"Sorry. It's just new to me and all..." Ran smiled sheepishly.

Conan squeezed Ran's hand.

"It will be alright. Don't worry."

They smiled fondly at each other one last time before continuing their walk towards Teitan Elementary.

* * *

Ran dropped Conan off in front of his school but not without giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"See you later, Conan-kun!"

"R-Ran—!"

Ran just giggled at the flustered boy before leaving.

"—neechan..."

 _'Geez, I think I'm going to have a heart attack soon...'_

"Heh, so much tension in the morning..."

"Gah!"

 _'Of course, she had to see it...'_ Conan just stared flatly at the girl behind him. "And good morning to you, too, Haibara."

"It's funny seeing the Great High School Detective of the East wrapped around Ran Mouri's finger..." Haibara flipped her hair lightly as she walked past him. "I know you hate being told off repeatedly but you should be more careful around her as always. _That girl_ is very perceptive and the next time you slip up, I don't think it won't end up good. Remember, _we don't want her to be involved_."

"Cute as always, Haibara." He answered monotonously. "But of course, I won't forget."

"Good."

Conan laughed dryly.

 _'Ah, Haibara will definitely kill me if she knew that Ran already discovered my secret..._

 _Well, not that she'll ever know. At least not until everything's over.'_

* * *

"Raaaaaaan!"

The karate captain was suddenly engulfed into a hug by her female best friend, Sonoko Suzuki.

"G-Good morning, Sonoko...?"

"What's good in the morning when I know that my best friend has been miserable for weeks and I can't do anything about it!? I know it's about Shinichi-kun and I swear I'll kick him to the next century for making his wife worry—"

"Sonoko..."

"—I don't care if he's some sort of a soccer god but I'll definitely kick him where the sun doesn't shine and it won't be pretty—"

Ran sweatdropped. _'If it's about kicking, I could do that myself you know...'_

"Sonoko, it's okay. I'm fine now. Sorry for worrying you." Ran smiled brightly at the short-haired girl.

Sonoko stared at Ran.

Sonoko stared long and hard at Ran that it made her a bit uncomfortable. She was startled when the girl suddenly shouted on her face.

"AH! I know that smile! Finally! Did you and Shinichi-kun...?"

"I don't know what you mean." Ran coughed.

"OH. MY. GOD."

"Sonoko..."

Sonoko squealed in delight. It was a miracle that people were not noticing the hyperactive girl but then again, it's a normal occurrence for the Suzuki Corporation heiress so they're probably used to it.

"I knew it! All of my investment towards you two has turned out great! Thirteen years of pinning you two together _ohmygod—"_

 _'What are we, stocks?'_

"Sonoko..."

Luckily for the exasperated Ran, the school bell rang.

"O-Oh look at the time, let's go to the classroom?"

"Awww. I'll get the details out of you later, Ran. Don't think you can escape the Deduction Queen, Sonoko-sama!"

 _'Of course, you will...'_

Ran warily laughed. "Yes, yes. Now let's go before the tardy bell rings."

"Oh no! I don't want to be late! Let's go, Ran!" Sonoko grabbed Ran's arm and dragged her towards their classroom.

 _'Sorry, Sonoko. As much as I wanted to tell you everything, I can't. Not yet. I can't put you in danger, too...'_ She smiled bitterly. _'Now I know how Shinichi felt whenever he's around me... He was trying to keep everything from me to keep me safe yet he also wanted to tell me everything—All that while dealing with his 'small' predicament. I keep wondering whether I did the right thing cornering him to confess or not... But the look on his face when he was breaking down tells me that he really needed me to be by his side so that he won't lose himself. So I will not waste my time regretting something that I have decided a long time ago—_

 _To be by his side whatever happens.'_

* * *

 _ **/**_

 _ **From: Conan-kun**_

 _ **Subj: After school**_

 ** _..._**

 _ **'Ran-neechan,**_

 ** _I'll be going with the Detective Boys after school to help with a case. I'll tell you the details later. See you at home._**

 ** _-Conan._**

 ** _P.S. Be safe.'_**

 ** _/_**

"Is it your husband?"

"Gah—Sonoko! You surprised me..."

"Sorry, sorry. You just had that smile and I thought that your husband texted you."

"A-ah no, no. It was Conan-kun. He was just telling me that he's going to go somewhere with his friends after school."

 _'Well, technically it's still from Shinichi...'_

"Ah so it was just the four-eyed brat."

"Don't be mean, Sonoko. Anyway, where is this new ice cream shop that you've been telling me since last night?"

"Oh! It's just a few streets away from your house."

"Wow, that's great! Maybe I can bring Conan-kun next time since he's busy today."

"Ooooh. Planning a date with your replacement husband, eh?"

"Geez, Sonoko!"

"Fine, fine I'll stop now." Ran breathed out a sigh of relief. "But I still need the details about Shinichi-kun!"

 _'Sonoko's really persistent as usual...'_

"Yes, yes. But actually it was just nothing. He called last night and my mood just lifted instantly..."

"Ah... True love..."

Ran's face was red in an instant.

"A-anyway, I was just stressed with the exams. There was no karate practiceduring finals week so I wasn't able to vent it out... And when Shinichi called, err well, let's just say that he's probably deaf by now."

Sonoko laughed not pitying the high school detective.

"But are you sure you're really okay now, Ran?" Sonoko was really worried about Ran. She noticed weeks ago that her best friend has been keeping something to herself again and that it was eating her friend inside out. But she knew that she can't do anything about it unless Ran asks for help.

And that was the problem, Ran is a selfless person. She wouldn't bother anyone because of her problems so she tries to solve it on her own. Before Shinichi disappeared, he was the only one who was able to detect Ran's troubles in a flash. Also, he was also the only one who could spill it out to them. Being a detective in addition to being a childhood friend is a very good combination in making Ran fess up about her problems. After Shinichi left, Sonoko felt that it was now her job to take care of Ran and tried her best to make her less lonely. Even though the karate champion looked happy on the outside, she knew it was opposite on the inside.

Ran was the only person who saw right through Sonoko. Since she's an heiress, not everyone who meets her has the purest of intentions. But with Ran, she's just Sonoko. Not the snobbish, rich girl but just a normal high school girl. So she tried really hard to bring Ran along in different trips, of course as long as Ran could afford it. That and Ran's luck was overflowing that she always gets free stuff.

 _If we didn't include the murder cases along it, sure._

So when Ran showed up this morning, Sonoko noticed that her friend was radiating with happiness that it made her cry.

Because the normal Ran was back.

Ran noticed the genuine concern of her friend. She blinked her eyes to prevent her tears from falling and smiled. "Thank you for worrying about me, Sonoko. You really are a good friend and I'm glad you're with me."

Sonoko sniffed. "Raaaaan! You're making me cryyyy!"

"Now, now Sonoko." The long-haired girl patted Sonoko's shoulder. "Wait— is that ice cream that's calling our names? Ara, look at that, we're already here!"

"Oooh, you're right! Let's get the largest parfait, my treat!"

"Oh no, I can pay—"

"SHHH. This is a celebration and you and Shinichi-kun's love so as a loyal fan, I should pay."

"E-EH?! Sonoko w-what—"

Ran was not able to finish her sentence as she was dragged once again by her energetic best friend.

 _'Really, I'm glad that I met you, Sonoko._

 _...And sorry for keeping something from you. I promise we'll tell you someday... Shinichi and I will.'_

* * *

 _ **/**_

 _ **From: Ran-neechan**_

 _ **Subj: Take care!**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **'Okay, Conan-kun. See you later at home. Oh by the way, we'll be having hamburger for dinner. I hope that's alright with you.**_

 _ **Be careful, okay? I can't help but always worry especially if it's about a case. Please say hi to the kids for me, okay? Don't be reckless!**_

 _ **Love, Ran-neechan.**_

 _ **P.S. I'm with Sonoko right now and we're going to go to the newly opened ice cream shop near the house. Maybe we could visit next time?'**_

 _ **/**_

Along with the mail was Ran's picture with her holding a gigantic parfait. Color red suddenly invaded the poor detective's face.

 _'Save, save.'_ After he was done, he quickly pocketed his phone and joined the rest of the Detective Boys. He lagged a few steps behind earlier when he was reading Ran's mail.

They were on their way towards Tokyo MPD Headquarters because the simple case of finding an amulet has turned into a murder case. _As usual._ So Takagi- _keiji_ needed to take their statements since they— _or rather Conan but they didn't have to know that_ —solved the case.

"Hey guys, Ran-neechan told me to say hi to you for her."

"Ah, Conan-kun! Tell her we said hi, too!" Ayumi chirped.

"Ran-neechan is so nice..." It was Mitsuhiko.

"Yeah, I remember her buying me unagi rice..."

"Genta-kun..." Everyone aside from Genta sweatdropped.

"Edogawa-kun is lucky to have her as a caretaker, eh?" It was Haibara this time. The kids agreed.

But Conan roughly translated Haibara's statement as, " _Kudo-kun is so whipped he can't even refuse a single request from his beloved_."

 _'She never passes up a chance, eh?'_

"Guess so." Conan stared flatly at Haibara then coughed to change the topic. "Anyway, I called Agasa-hakase and he'll bring us home after we're done. He also called your parents to inform them that you will be home later than usual."

"Okayyy!" Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta chorused in reply.

 _'It was a tiring day yet they're so full of energy as always...'_

* * *

It was 5:30 in the afternoon when the questioning ended.

"Thanks for the time, kids. Good work. You can go home now." Takagi smiled at the children.

"Haiiiiii. Thanks for your hard work!" They chorused.

Takagi stood up from his office chair and led the Detective Boys towards the exit. "Take care on your way home! _And I hope you don't attract murder cases again."_

 _'Sorry about being a murder magnet then...'_

"Yes, Takagi- _keiji!_ Agasa- _hakase_ is already waiting for us outside." Conan answered with fake cheer.

"Ah Agasa-san. Say hi to him for me, okay?"

 _'This is the second time today...'_

"Haaai. Bye bye Takagi- _keiji_!" Conan waved and ran towards his friends who were already flocking around Agasa- _hakase_ while hounding him excitedly with the details about the case.

Conan smiled. Even though being stuck in a child's body sucks, it was fun to solve mysteries with Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta. He felt a brotherly connection towards them and decided that there was a need to protect them from harm. So he helps them with their deductions so that when they grow up, they will become great people who will make him proud. And when the time comes when he's able to return to his true age and of course after the Black Organization is defeated, he promises to give them one last adventure before he tells them the truth.

Maybe Ran can help him on this one. She's better with children anyway.

* * *

"Tadaima!"

"Okaeri, Conan-kun!"

"Where's Oji-san?"

"Ah, he's just getting his recording of Yoko-san's drama earlier. He wasn't able to watch it because he was following someone for a case."

"What case?"

"Hmm... I think it was an adultery case."

Conan laughed dryly. _'Same old, same old.'_

"How was your day, Ran-neechan?"

"Oh since finals has just finished, it was not loaded. Not much homework and activities. Karate practice will resume soon so I'll be going home later than usual again. And the ice cream shop that I was talking about in the mail that I sent you was great! Did you see the picture I attached?"

 _'Yes... Yes, I did and I saved it somewhere nobody can reach. I don't want a repeat of last time...'_

"I saw it! The parfait looked great, Ran-neechan! Let's try it next time?"

 _'Not just the parfait, though...'_

"Okay! But not tomorrow since I ate a lot of it today."

"Okay. Just tell me when!"

"Of course! It's a date then!" They both blushed. "How about you, Conan-kun? How was your day?"

Ran giggled when she saw the bored look on Conan's face.

"We were looking for a lost amulet and we found murder instead."

"Why am I not surprised... Are you sure you don't want to be exorcised for being a murder magnet? Shinigami-sama might have possessed you..."

"Haha, funny." Conan just stared flatly at Ran while the girl was busy giggling at the boy's reaction.

"Anyway, so what happened?"

"We were looking for the amulet at a classmate's house. It was given to him by his biological mother who died when he was four. We found it. Turns out it was just stuck under the carpet. When we were getting ready to go home, we heard a scream. I rushed to where the scream originated and found a body in the bathroom. The victim was confirmed to be my classmate's stepmother."

"That's horrible... Losing two mothers at a young age." Ran frowned.

"Yeah. The method was simple. Someone laced the victim's lipstick with cyanide. The culprit knew that the victim always wore her favorite lipstick so they used that as a way to deliver the poison."

"Where do these people buy those poisonous things... It's like most murder cases that involved poisoning uses cyanide."

"True. Cyanide is often used because even a drop can instantly kill victim had a habit of licking her lips so when she applied the lipstick, the poison got into her tongue and that's it."

"So it means that the culprit is very close to her?"

"Yes, since they knew about their habits and favorite lipstick."

"So who did it then?"

"There were three suspects. Her husband, her bestfriend and her ex-boyfriend. All of them knew about her habit but one of them slipped something unusual to us. The culprit told us that they were in Kanagawa at the time of death. Kanagawa is one hour from Beika. Perfect alibi, right?" Ran nodded in agreement. "Though when Takagi- _keiji_ verified if that was true, they weren't able to find the culprit's name in any form of public transport systems towards Kanagawa. They insisted that they rode a car but they weren't able to show us their toll pass ticket."

"Wow, that was bold of them to use that alibi..."

"They thought the police would find it bothersome to check everything. But they even checked the CCTV recordings of the roads they were supposed to be traveling on but they never saw the culprit's car and plate number."

"And that's where their plan was ruined."

"Yes. The culprit was the best friend."

"Really? What was the evidence that you found?"

"Takagi- _keiji_ traced the order form of the lipstick that the victim had. He found out that the lipstick was new and rare and that only four people were able to buy it in that particular color. It was strange that the victim's name did not come up in the list but instead, the best friend's name showed up and it was found out that the lipstick was a gift from her a day ago. Also, traces of cyanide were found in the culprit's passenger seat. Apparently, she just dumped the container there after injecting the poison. That was careless of her."

"What was her reason...?"

Conan smiled sadly. "Jealousy and misunderstanding. The best friend thought that the victim was going behind her back by flirting with her boyfriend. But the thing is— the victim just needed help from the best friend's boyfriend to buy her a gift in exchange for the lipstick that she gave to her. They found the gift inside the victim and her husband's room."

"That's terrible..." Ran was tearing up.

Conan grabbed her hand and stroked it with his thumb to soothe the crying girl. "Every murder case is terrible, Ran..."

"I know but they really didn't have to kill... It's better to talk it out to make their relationship work. And now, more people are in grief. Especially that kid..." Ran weakly laughed while wiping her tears. "Sorry for being overly emotional..."

"It's okay, Ran. That's who you are." Conan— _Shinichi_ smiled at Ran. "You should never be ashamed of it. Please never change."

Ran smiled. "Thank you, Conan-kun." _'—Shinichi.'_

"You're welcome, Ran-neechan!" Conan grinned childishly at the taller girl. "Now stop crying, okay?"

"Okay, Conan-kun. Help me with dinner?"

"Okay!"

And that was when Kogoro came in.

"Eh? What's happening here?"

Ran and Conan just stared at the newcomer.

"What? Did I miss something here?"

The two just laughed.

"Bah! Laughing for no reason. Weird kids."

"Don't worry about it, Otou-san. I was just asking Conan-kun to help me with dinner."

"That brat should really help you since he's just freeloading here!"

Both Ran and Conan stared flatly at the older man.

 _'Not that my parents paid you millions of yen for my expenses...'_

"You're more like the freeloader here, Otou-san! I'm always cleaning up after you! _Now set the table."_ Ran glare could almost freeze even hell.

Kogoro squeaked in fright. "H-hai, Ran-chan..."

Ran smiled brightly as if nothing happened. "Thank you, Otou-san!"

Conan heard the man mumble the words ' _scary'_ and ' _should have never let her learn karate_ '.

 _'Haha. You never learn, Occhan...'_

"Now Conan-kun, let's leave that grumpy old man behind and prepare dinner, okay?"

"Okay, let's go Ran-neechan!"

Both ignored Kogoro's protest about not being a grumpy old man because _he's the Great Detective Sleeping Kogoro, damn it!_

* * *

"The kids wanted me to tell you that they said hi."

"Oh thank you, that was sweet of them."

Silence.

"Ran, when everything's over, will you help me with the kids?"

 _'Will you be my strength when I finally tell them the truth?'_

Ran smiled fondly at her love.

"Of course, Shinichi. I'll always be with you."

"Thank you."

* * *

Hattori Heiji, the Great High School Detective of the West was watching a baseball game when he received a call from Kudo. He excused himself from Kazuha, his childhood friend who was watching the game with him. The girl raised her eyebrow.

 _'Kudo?'_

 _'Kudo.'_

Kazuha nodded and let the ahou take his damn call from Ran-chan's boyfriend.

* * *

"Oi Kudo, wassup?"

"..."

"Kudo?"

"H-Hattori-kun?"

Heiji did not expect to hear a familiar female voice.

 _'SHIT.'_

"N-Neechan!?"

"Yes, Hattori-kun?"

"A-ah! N-neechan! I- uhm t-t'is phone ah... Why did ya call?"

"I just needed to confirm something with you."

"A-an' tha' is...?"

 _'Why do I get ta feelin' tha' I'm makin' a big mistake...?'_

"Why are you always calling Conan-kun, Kudo? For example, when I called you just now. I used Conan-kun's phone, you know? He lent me this because my phone was soaked and I just put it in rice to dry off."

' _Damn it, Kudo!'_

"N-No uhm I-I just read the caller ID wrong...?"

"You always found a way to cover your slip ups and luckily we believed you but thinking about how many times it happened, I think there's something more to it..."

Silence.

"As I've thought..."

Now, Hattori Heiji knew that Kudo will kill him because of this. Or Neechan. With Kazuha.

He shivered at the thought.

"A-As I've thought wha'...?"

"That Conan-kun and Shinichi are..." And Hattori heard a sob.

"A-Ah N-neechan! Argh! I told Kudo ta tell ya a'ready but noooo, he has t'is big ego and he's like ' _no, I will protect Ran even if we're both hurt emotionally'_ tha' ahou! I've a'ways told 'im to fess up 'cause it'll make his life easier but ta stubborn ahou can't—"

"Hattori-kun—"

"Sorry ya had ta find out like t'is but I knew t'is would happen someday 'cause yer smart an' perceptive an' ya knowin' will definitely help Kudo with his problem an' ya can definitely protect yerself but ugh I also understand Kudo's point'cause I'd probably do wha' he did ta Kazuha if it happened ta me—"

"Hattori-kun...?"

"I kno' it's hard ta believe tha' Kudo shrunk into a kid but ta evidence is there an' please forgive Kudo 'cause he did it with yer safety in mind an' 'cause he loves you an'—"

"Hattori-kun!"

"H-Hai...?"

And Hattori heard a laugh... which sounded like a child's...?

"Hattori...y-you are..."

"Kudo!? Wait wha' 'bout Nee-chan—"

"Ah, that was fun."

And then it clicked.

The damn voice changing bowtie!

"YA AHOU YA TRICK'D ME—"

"Sorry, sorry." Conan wheezed. "Just testing you. And wow, you failed miserably Hattori. _Thanks for protecting my identity._ " The pseudo kid said dryly.

"W-Wha—"

"Actually, I'm calling using Shinichi's phone. If you just bothered to check the damn caller ID then you'll know."

"I- erm—"

"But nevermind that, Hattori. I have a question for you."

"I'm still mad a' ya. Dammit Kudo, I a'most had a heart attack! I a'most saw ta light..."

 _'I almost saw Neechan an' Kazuha pummel me ta oblivion...'_

"Sorry. But that was really necessary before I ask this question." Hattori halted as he detected the seriousness in Shinichi's voice.

"'Kay, I'll listen ta it. But try anythin' funny and I'll—"

"Sure, sure you'll beat me with a shinai and feed me to the dogs. But here's the question, do you really think that I should tell Ran that Shinichi Kudo and Conan Edogawa are one and the same?"

"W-Wha' drove ya' to ask t'is question...?"

"Just answer me, Hattori."

"Yeah, ya should."

"Okay, thanks."

"'kay—wait, tha's all!?"

"Yep. Treat it as a survey. Bye, Hattori!"

"Oi! Wait yer really goin' to...?"

"Are you an idiot? No way."

And the shrunken detective hanged up.

"THEN WHY DID YA EVEN CALL, YA AHOU!?"

"HEIJI, SHUT UP YA AHOU I'M WA'CHING AN' I CAN'T HEAR IT 'CAUSE OF YER YAMMERIN'!"

"ARGH!"

" **SHUT UP!** "

* * *

After the phone call at Ran's room,

"That was mean, Shinichi."

"Nah, I was just teasing him. But it's not like it was not you who talked to him at first."

"Well, I just wanted to find out if he really did know."

"Yep, and he found me out. He blackmailed me that he'll tell you so... yeah."

"Hmmm. But I think I feel a little better when he told me that he always suggested that you tell me."

"Yeah, Hattori is a very honest person. And I must admit that it was a very tempting suggestion. I almost succumbed many times..."

"You endured for so long, eh?" Ran stroked Shinichi's head gently.

"Yeah... and sorry that I'm not really sorry about that... but it doesn't matter now, right? You know now. You cornered me perfectly."

Ran smiled sadly. "I'm sorry for forcing you again... I know I should have waited as usual but—"

"What's done is done, Ran. It's okay." Then he snickered. "It just means that you have learned well from the true _Meitantei._ "

" _Oh shut up."_

"I am so proud of you."

"Shinichi!"

"Sorry, sorry. Can't help it. I missed this..."

"Me, too. Even if we can only do this late at night in my room..."

"Ran, as much as I'd love to, I am just in an eight-year old body and—"

 _"Do you want me to punch you into the earth?"_

"Sorry, Ran-chan..."

"But seriously, it kinda feels like an adventure. Hiding our secret that is."

Shinichi stared flatly at Ran.

"Ran, it was torture for me and it's an adventure to you?"

"Oh sorry, that's not what I meant. Adventure because we're doing something together again after a long time... Well at least for me." Ran sheepishly admitted. "And we'll never know what will happen in the future but as long as we're in it together then it's fine with me."

"R-Ran..."

"Also, I'm saving you from the wrath of many people by not telling them that I knew."

Shinichi laughed dryly.

"Well, they can guess as much as they want but I won't fess up." Shinichi smirked. "And I say we're doing a good job not letting them know."

"Yeah, we really make a great team."

They high-fived each other.

"Makes you wanna regret not telling me sooner, eh?"

"Nope, I'm not listening."

"Oh children should just go to bed now. They might not grow taller if they miss their sleep."

"...That's a low blow, Ran..."

Ran giggled then surprised Shinichi with a peck on the forehead. "Oh get over it."

Shinichi just grunted in reply.

"Now, off you go!" Ran patted Shinichi's back to get him off the bed.

"Hai, hai. Good night, Ran." Shinichi kissed Ran's cheek.

"Good night, Shinichi!"

* * *

 **Yay for Sonoko and DB interactions! Also poor Hattori haha! Sorry for the failed attempt in Osaka-ben Eng. ver hahahuhu**

 **About Sonoko, I love how she is true to herself despite having lots of money at her disposal. She helps Ran in cleaning Shinichi's house, she does chores and she is not snobbish. I guess she owes it to Ran because come on, she is an angel sent by above who can make you cry in happiness and fear at the same time haha jk Sonoko has her own quirks but I know she thinks a lot of Ran's well-being, too!**

 **I wonder what Conan has planned when the day finally comes for him to tell the kids the truth? (Yes I'm going to let the kids know later on.)**

 **I still have no idea where this fanfic is going... Wait I do but it's still very vague and I still don't know if I'm really going to place some proper plot in her or just have some fun moments here and there plus fluff...**

 **But basically I just wanted ran and conan to prank everyone HAHA kidding**

 **Thanks for reading! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

It was one thing to understand, but accepting it wholeheartedly _is a very difficult task._

Yes, Ran told Conan that she understood the reason behind his actions, that he never meant to hurt her and that he kept the truth from her with the purest of intentions in mind but she can't help but feel like an idiot whenever she remembered how she acted before she confronted the shrunken high school detective.

' _Ignorance really is bliss.'_ Ran thought bitterly. _'But I can't be an idiot forever.'_

She thought she was over it—that after the stunt that she had pulled with Conan, her understanding would be accompanied by blind acceptance.

But she was proved wrong. That phonecall with Heiji Hattori has forced some of the feelings that she has been desperately sealing off out in the open.

The feelings of betrayal, anger, hurt and confusion.

 _Other people had known about Shinichi's case before her? Shinichi was able to tell other people about his problem? How many more people were involved in this? Was she unworthy of his trust? **Did he really love her or...?**_

Stop.

She can't let herself be consumed by ill-driven thoughts.

Ran knows that what Shinichi needs now is her support and she can't let herself become selfish by letting some stupid and irrational feelings overcome her that might drive her love away.

Didn't she tell herself that if she was going to make Shinichi confess, it was because she had decided to be his pillar of strength, not to condemn him?

She knew that Shinichi trusts her with all of his heart since he confessed to her before that the one that he's not able to trust was himself. It broke her heart into pieces when she realized that her brave and courageous Shinichi has been reduced into a scared and overly cautious'child'.

Her best friend's life was ruined and he was struggling to survive yet she was only thinking of her own troubles.

No.

That's not fair to Shinichi.

So that night, she locked the door to her bedroom ignoring Conan's persistent knocks and pretended to fall sleep as an excuse to miss their nightly meeting. She truly can't face her boyfriend in an unstable, sorry state. He didn't need to know that she harbours such _shameful_ feelings deep inside her heart. Instead, she just silently cried her heart out, wishing that the unwanted feelings would vanish when the night's over and that her heart would lock her deepest, darkest secrets once again.

* * *

But at the same moment, she didn't know that someone was listening at her painful woes behind her bedroom door with a face full of regret and sadness.

* * *

"Ne, Ran-neechan?"

"Yes, Conan-kun?"

"Did you cry last night?"

A pause.

Then a smile.

"No, Conan-kun. I didn't."

"Okay..."

He squeezed Ran's hand.

* * *

Ran's luck has gotten the Mouri household free dinner in an expensive Italian restaurant via raffle in the supermarket that day.

Conan dryly laughed. _'As expected. Her luck is inexhaustible.'_

So now, Ran was helping him with his tie and the poor boy can't help but become overly conscious with the proximity of the beautiful girl from his face.

Ran was wearing a pink turtle neck dress under a white coat that will protect her against the harsh cold winds of the night. Her hair was loose and she didn't wear any cosmetics aside from a strawberry-flavored lipgloss.

 _'No makeup can enhance Ran's already beautiful face anyway.'_

"Did you really have to help me with this?" Conan whined to mask the true reason for his redness.

Ran properly tightened Conan's tie and patted his chest signalling that she was done with her task. "But Conan-kun, if we don't keep this up, someone's bound to notice, right?"

 _'She's right...'_

"But Ran-neechan—"

"No buts!" Ran smirked. "And well, you're just so fun to tease soooo..."

"Raaaannnnnnnn!"

Ran kissed the whining boy's cheek and grabbed his hand. "Come on, Conan-kun. Let's check on Otou-san, shall we?"

"Wait, Ran-neechan!"

"Did you forget something, Conan-kun?"

"U-Uhm kind of. Since you're closer, can you please get it for me, Ran-neechan? It's in the front pocket of my schoolbag."

"E-Eh? Sure, no problem." Ran grabbed his bag which was placed at the end of where Conan's futon should be and checked inside for the thing that Conan forgot. Ran wasn't expecting anything but when she found a small, rectangular velvet box wrapped in a piece of white satin ribbon, she didn't know what to think. Though Ran was hoping that she was able to suppress the blush that was caused by her silly thoughts.

 _'Is this—!? But the box is rectangular so I doubt it. And it's Conan's, not mine so don't get so excited, Ran...'_ Ran smiled nervously and presented the item to Conan. "I-Is this what you're looking for, Conan-kun?"

Conan nodded with enthusiasm. "Open it!"

"E-eh!? This is a gift for someone, right? So I'm not supposed to—"

Conan rolled his eyes. "Ran, it's for you. Who else would it be for?"

"F-for me...?" Ran blinked.

 _'Of course, barou. As if I'd buy things like that for other people.'_

"Yes! Shinichi-niichan told me to give you that as a surprise. Open it!"

"A-ah, alright alright, I'm opening it now." Pulling the ribbon and letting it fall onto the floor, Ran opened the velvet box which revealed a set of sparkling earrings.

The earrings were shaped as a flower— an orchid of course, derived from her name— and it was studded with purple crystals which made the accessory appealing to the eye.

And Ran was in love with it.

"Shinichi..."

Conan smiled. "Shinichi-niichan said that he knows that you will get the meaning of those earrings, Ran-neechan. You're good with flower meanings, right?"

Ran shyly nodded. "Respect and admiration..."

"He also said that he's giving it to you as a symbol of his promise..."

"Promise?"

"That he will definitely come back to you no matter what. That even though he can't take care of you properly now, he will make it up to you when he comes back." A pause. "So for the meantime, I'm going to be your prince, Ran-neechan! I'll take care of you!"

 _'Shinichi...'_

"Aww come here, Conan-kun!" Ran hugged the poor flustered boy while she tried to prevent her tears from falling down. "You're really the sweetest!"

"Ran...neechan... can't...b-breathe—"

"Sorry, sorry. I was just so happy." She loosened the hug. "Okay, I'll just put these on for a bit and then we'll fetch Otou-san downstairs, alright?"

"Okay, Ran-neechan!"

When Ran was finished, Conan was not able to decide whether it was Ran's earrings or her smile that shone better in his eyes.

* * *

By some stroke of luck, no murder case has happened while Kogoro, Ran and Conan were having dinner at _Ristorante Italianni._ They were already heading home so they called a taxi to bring them back home.

"Ahhhh, that was a great meal." Kogoro burped while rubbing his belly. He ignored Ran's lecture about being improper in public places.

"Yeah! Ran-neechan was really lucky to get them for free!"

Ran giggled. "Let's go back next time, then."

"Okay!"

"Oi oi, I'm not paying for that, you hear!?"

"Hai, hai Otou-san. Whatever you say." Ran suddenly touched her chin in thought. "But huh, I feel strange. Did you guys get some charm or something?" Ran asked her two companions with a tilt of the head _but obviously it was directed towards the shrunken detective who was very much aware of the girl's insinuation._

Kogoro raised his eyebrow. "Charm?"

"Mm! Usually when we go to places like these a case suddenly pops up, right?"

 _'Oi Ran, don't jinx it...'_ Conan laughed nervously.

"Aha! Maybe the culprit got scared because they knew that the Great Detective Mouri Kogoro was present! My presence alone was able to thwart the culprit's evil plans for tonight so that means I saved the day!" Ran and Conan stared flatly at each other before shrugging their guardian off.

 _'Let's just ignore him, shall we?'_

 _'That's always the best idea, Ran.'_

The teenagers, one adult-sized and one kid-sized, sighed in resignation and droned out the voice of their bragging _meitantei_. They were in the backseat of the taxi so it was easy to ignore the old man who claimed the seat beside the driver's.

"Ran-neechan?" Conan whispered.

Ran smiled and touched his hand. "What is it, Conan-kun?"

Ran noticed the boy's sudden nervousness and she felt that the hand she was holding was sweating despite the cool air blown by the car's airconditioner. After a few moments, the teenager-turned-kid finally replied. "...Can we talk later?"

Ran titled her head. "Hmm? Sure!"

"Can you promise me that?" Ran widened her eyes at Conan's strange question. "Because you have been ignoring my knocks since a few days ago..." Ran averted her eyes from Conan and then he knew that he finally hit the target. "So maybe it's about _that_ again so maybe we could... talk it out?"

 _'That, eh? Of course, he would figure it out...'_

The girl felt like she just swallowed a hard rock. She squeezed Conan's hand and tried to smile before answering nervously. "Okay, Conan-kun. We can talk whenever you want."

"Okay, Ran-neechan. Thank you." Conan smiled at the troubled girl.

Then he yawned.

"Ara, sleepy already Conan-kun?"

"A bit, Ran-neechan." He lifted his eyeglasses for a bit to rub his eyes and placed it back. "Ran-neechan..." Conan hesitated for a second before continuing. " _Can I lean on you?"_

"Hmmm?"

"I kinda feel sleepy and since there's heavy traffic now which will make our trip longer, I thought maybe I could have a little nap?"

For some reason, Ran knew that he was not just about _taking a nap_ so her eyes softened at the boy and smiled brightly. "Of course, Conan-kun. _You can always lean on me._ "

And in Conan's case, he also knew that she wasn't just talking about his nap either.

"You're always so kind, Ran-neechan. _Thank you._ " The shrunken detective kissed Ran's cheek before settling down to her side. Ran touched the cheek where her love's lips have touched and stared fondly at Conan— _Shinichi._

"You're always welcome, my _Meitantei_."

Despite Kogoro's loud rambling— _oh the poor taxi driver's ears –_ the two childhood friends turned lovers slept soundly until they were woken up by Kogoro when they finally arrived at the Detective Agency.

* * *

"Geez, still drinking this late at night..."

Conan laughed dryly. _'That's Occhan for you...'_

After changing out of their clothes, Ran and Conan went down to the Agency to check on Kogoro who was watching his beloved Yoko Okino's late rerun of her drama. As expected, they found an intoxicated Kogoro who was dead asleep in his office. Ran sighed miserably at the mess that she has to clean up _again._

"Mou! It's always like this!" Ran turned the television off then grabbed Kogoro's collar and shook him awake. "Otou-san! Go upstairs and sleep already!"

But Ran only got some incoherent noises and a _'Yoko-chwaaaannn~'_ from her inebriated father.

Conan sweatdropped as he saw Ran drag her father to the door then threw the drunken man outside.

"If you don't go upstairs now, I'm not sure where my fist will land, Otou-san..." Ran smiled darkly which immediately sent her father running towards their apartment.

 _'Scary...'_

The girl stepped back into the Agency and found Conan already picking up the beer cans that littered around the office.

Ran frowned. "Geez. This is why Okaa-san isn't coming back home. He really needs to get himself together..." She got the broom and washcloth to start cleaning, too.

 _'Occhan is really dependent on Ran. I wonder who really the pillar of this family is..."_

Conan laughed dryly once again.

* * *

After the Agency has been cleaned and locked, the two went upstairs to finally have their long-awaited rest for the day.

...That is, if this was a normal day. Instead of heading to Kogoro's room, Conan pulled Ran into her room and locked the door. The girl sat down on her bed while the small boy remained standing in front of her.

Conan— _Shinichi_ broke the silence.

"You really think I won't hear your cries at night? That I won't figure it out?"

"..."

They were finally alone in Ran's bedroom to talk but the girl seemed to be ignoring him as she was busy staring at the window.

"Ran..."

"..."

"Ran." Shinichi took her hand. "It's okay to admit that you still feel betrayed for what I did."

Ran whirled her head around towards her best friend. "No, it's—!"

"You think it's unfair to me for you to feel that way—That you should understand _and accept_ what I did because it was for you and the greater good. That you should support me all throughout because I was the one who got the short end of the stick." He squeezed Ran's hand then whispered. "Is that it...?"

Ran was speechless. Honestly, she wanted to tell Shinichi about her feelings but she didn't know how to do so without making him feel bad. She didn't want Shinichi to be guilty of something he was not in control of. But it seems that nothing escapes the prodigy detective named Shinichi Kudo.

"Honestly, Ran. It's a habit of yours to keep these important feelings to yourself." Shinichi smiled. "But Ran, your feelings are valid. Don't ever think that it's not. You should never, ever keep them from me even though it will hurt so the truth will always set you free no matter what."

"S-Shinichi..." Ran's eyes were getting damp. "I..."

Shinichi's eyes softened at the sight. "Go on, I will wait for you."

Her tears fell.

"Waiting is such a painful thing you know?" A single sob. "I was given an assurance— that you will come back to me. I know, _I know_ that I don't really mind waiting but it was just so sudden...

I don't really mind waiting. I really don't. After all, when someone you haven't seen for a long time returns, the reunion is sweeter, right? But when I realized that you were just beside me all this time, I felt like an idiot. I should have persisted when I first suspected you. I caught you off-guard many times, right?

Yet I was so stupid to reject the possibility that you were..." Ran choked a laugh. "I sometimes wished that I was a great detective like you but it's just not in my character, ne?"

As Ran was talking, Shinichi never let go of her hand.

"Barou. You are not stupid. And you could if you try, you know? Don't ever forget that you drove me into a corner recently." Shinichi smirked.

He got a playful smack in the head.

"I really felt lost, you know? I was hesitating whether to do that or not because I wasn't sure that you'd want me in. You never really wanted me to butt into your cases, right? To be honest, I did not know where I stood in your life.

But then I realized that I'm probably not the only one hurting. Because you became like _that_ , you probably felt disoriented, helpless and alone. No one can help you or else they would be in terrible danger because of their connection to you and you can't handle the guilt of being held responsible for their deaths. And you seeing me sad because of _Shinichi_ was just making you feel worse since you can't do anything to ease the pain. I thought that it was getting too much for you, so I selfishly decided to end the facade between us once and for all, hoping to lighten your burden..." Ran took a deep breath before continuing. "I thought I was ready, you know? I've been preparing myself for that confrontation by burying my shameful feelings deep into my heart but that call from Hattori-kun made my resolve to keep a lid on my feelings falter. I realized that I never prepared myself for that situation— that other people knew who you are before me."

Shinichi looked away guiltily.

"It's stupid, right? I know I already implied that I already knew about that but actually facing the situation was a different case." Ran bitterly laughed. "It's really hard to admit but I guess I just didn't want to be out of the loop when it comes to you. We've been together since we were in pre-school and I know every quirk and habit that you have. So to be thrown suddenly out was... strange to me. It felt like I was in a limbo. It bothered me so much that other people actually knew yet I, your childhood friend who's been with you for a long time, have been completely clueless about your situation. I didn't know what to make of it so I just shoved these feelings deep down because I know that there was a legitimate reason for all of that. _I know... I know yet... I can't help but feel neglected and abandoned?_

Or maybe it was just the loneliness in me that was making me a wreck. I don't even know myself... I'm sorry, Shinichi, for being a selfish person..."

Ran felt Shinichi's other hand on her cheek. "It must have been very hard on you then."

Ran's eyes widened in a fraction of a second then turned her gaze away from the wistfully smiling Shinichi. "Compared to what you've experienced, this is nothing."

"No, Ran. The severity of the problem is not important. Well, it is but not on this case. The most important thing is the effect of that problem to you. It's making you suffer so you need to let it out." Shinichi smiled sadly. "I'm sorry that I made you doubt about where you stood in my life."

"..."

"You were always been a fixture in my life, Ran. When I first met you, your smiling face made my heart tremble. As we grew up, we were always doing almost everything together. When we stumble into cases, we always stick together. I guess I need to apologize for the stint I had pulled when we were in grade school." Shinichi admitted sheepishly.

Ran knew exactly what he was talking about. That was when Shinichi told her that they should call each other by last names because they were not children anymore and they would probably be teased by their classmates if they did not stop. To be honest, Ran did not see the point in it but it hurt her so much since she felt that Shinichi's distancing himself from her. But thanks to the code that the mysterious man left in the library, they were able to have an adventure to become closer again.

"You've always been the most important person in my life ever since we met, Ran. I understand that my actions were unfair to you but if keeping you away from me will keep you alive then I will take that chance. I am not glorifying my actions, Ran. It was not the most appealing choice that I have made and you are welcome to have negative feelings for me after what I did. I won't hold it against you. It _is_ a fact that I hurt you and made you doubt our friendship— making you cry alone at night." Ran flinched at this statement. "So imagine my surprise when you perfectly cornered me and then you decided to act like nothing has happened in the end. It was really unexpected that you forgave me immediately without erm... making me your punching bag."

Ran snorted. "I really don't want a surprise visit from child services one day, Shinichi."

Shinichi sweatdropped but immediately composed himself back to continue his speech. "We are just human, Ran. What separates us from other beings is the level of intelligence that we were equipped with due to evolution. Also, our brain is able to produce chemicals that will result to _feelings_. So your feelings are just a reaction to what I did, which was unjust on your side. You shouldn't be ashamed of it. I did what I did because of my feelings for you and I'm not ashamed of it— although it still pains me to know that I am still causing you grief and insecurity. If our situations were reversed and you were the one who was poisoned, I will also not stop until I find out the truth— I'd probably do worse than you did.

We both understand our intentions behind our moves so the best course of action to take is... to just be ourselves. No lies. No secrets. Not anymore. Now that we can talk like this off the phone, we can properly convey our feelings to one another, right?"

Ran nodded slowly.

"We can't probably go back the way we were before but what we have now is a start of something better, I believe." Shinichi smiled.

"But isn't it sad? We both understand the reasons behind our actions but I can't help but think that there's already a crack somewhere here." Ran clutched her chest. "Are we going to be okay?"

Shinichi chuckled making Ran feel puzzled. "Barou."

"Eh?"

"Do you know Ran? There's a method of repairing century-old pottery called _kintsugi_ meaning 'golden joinery'. It uses a special type of lacquer dusted with gold, silver or platinum making the end result more unique and beautiful than the original appearance of the pottery." Shinichi smiled warmly at the curious girl.

"I would like to compare our relationship to that. Even though we are in constant times of trouble, we always find a way to be better, right? And this... what this lie did to us was no joke. We were both changed by this unfortunate circumstance; You learned how to live without my constant presence and I learned how to be dependent on people. Maybe we needed this for us to grow as individual people. But now that we are on equal footing again, we can work together to repair our cracked bonds. Since we are the improved versions of our past selves— _although please excuse my current appearance_ — _I think we'll be okay, Ran._ It will take time, but _we will._ As I've said before, we can't go back before this all happened but we have the power to choose what we will be in the future. And you told me that you only wanted to be by my side no matter what, right? That's the same for me and don't you ever forget that. Did you know that I declined my father's offer for me to start a new life with them in America when they found out about what happened to me? It's because I didn't want to leave the one I wanted to be with alone."

"Shinichi..."

Shinichi kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry that we kept the truth from you back then but I love you so much and I'll never let you go.W-well unless you changed your mind..."

Ran shook her head furiously. "I only want you so I won't let go either!"

"G-good..." They both flushed. "Now, let's wipe your tears properly now eh? Wait, I'll get you a handkerchief." Conan stood up and went to Ran's dresser to get one. He was startled at Ran's sudden exclamation though.

"Yosh! I think I know what I'll do when you get your body back."

 _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'_

"And what will it be, Ran?"

"I'll make you my punching bag in one of my practices!" Ran chirped.

 _'Aha..haha. As I've thought...'_

Shinichi closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. She deserves it anyway. "Hai, hai. Whatever you want, Miss Karate Champion."

Ran grinned. "But for now, I think we both need a hug."

"That, I definitely agree."

Ran picked the miniature-sized Shinichi up and hugged him tightly.

"Ran?"

"Hmm...?"

"Will you hear me out once again?"

"What is it?"

"I think it's time for you to know the details of what really happened to me."

The girl gasped then whispered. "A-Are you sure...? Y-You don't really need to until it's over, you know? A-Am I forcing you again?"

The boy just chuckled. "Barou. No one's forcing anyone. It's my own free will so don't worry about it, okay? Also, no lies and secrets anymore, remember? But I must apologize in advance because this might cost you your sleep."

"I can sleep during class."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Mouri-san's being brave today, eh?" Shinichi smirked.

Ran pouted. "Oh shut up or I won't hear your explanations...

"Hai, hai." Shinichi pulled away from the embrace and settled himself beside Ran. "But I want to make a request."

"Hmm?"

"Please hear me out until the end."

"Baka, I'm wasting my precious sleep anyway so why not listen to you until the end?"

 _'Yep, sleep is more important to her than I... Unfortunately.'_

Shinichi cleared his throat and stared flatly at Ran. "Okay since I'm wasting your precious time, I better get started. Remember, Ran. What I'm going to tell you is a top secret. I know you're already aware of the consequences of just knowing this story but I'm telling you again anyway. Promise me that you will always take care of yourself."

Ran nodded. "I promise, Shinichi."

 _"_ Good. _So it started on the day we went to Tropical Land..."_

* * *

It was morning.

Ran opened her eyes and realized that both she and Conan fell asleep in her bed. Glancing at the young face of her beloved, she recalled the things that he had revealed to her hours ago.

 _'So Agasa-hakase, Hattori-kun, Ai-chan, and Eisuke-kun knew, eh? And Ai-chan... I can't believe that those things happened to her."_ Ran frowned. _"Shinichi's doing his best fighting the Black Organization so I'll try hard not to let these people know that I already know so that I won't get in their way. That was my plan from the very start but I need to be more cautious around those people— save for Eisuke-kun since he's already in America._

 _I was glad that Shinichi pushed for us to have this conversation. I almost thought that this will break us apart but... kintsugi, eh? Repairing with gold to make something more unique and beautiful than before?'_ Ran chuckled. _'It's just so him to know such weird facts.'_

Ran stealthily got up from the bed and then covered Conan properly with a blanket. After dropping a kiss on his forehead, Ran proceeded to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast.

 _"Remember, you can always lean on me, Shinichi."_

* * *

Conan groaned before opening his eyes. He noticed that instead of a futon, he was sleeping on a bed— Ran's bed.

He bolted out of bed in realization.

 _'Shit, I fell asleep here!'_ He glanced around the room and noticed that Ran was already gone. He sighed and picked his eyeglasses up from the table. Underneath his glasses, was a note.

 **S,**

 **Thank you for telling me. Don't worry, nothing will change except that we'll be stronger than before.**

 **Love, Ran.**

Conan smiled and pocketed the note. He needed to burn it later in order to get rid of the evidence.

 _'I promise to make it up to you, Ran. I'll do my best to solve this case so that we'll be finally together as Shinichi and Ran.'_

Conan decided to go directly to the living room instead of Kogoro's room. If Kogoro found him sneaking into the room, who knows what he'll do to him.

"Ohayo, Ran-neechan!"

"Ohayo, Conan-kun!"

And then they both yawned.

Silence.

Then the giggles started.

They both knew that they were going to be screwed at school today for sleeping during class but it doesn't matter since their hearts are finally at peace with one another.

Nothing can break them anymore.

* * *

 **I totally did not plan on having such feelsy chapter in this fic haha! But I thought, what will Ran do with her feelings? OFC she felt betrayed by what Shinichi did. I mean, hello. He had lots of chances to tell her the truth yet he didn't. But since Ran is very understanding plus the fact that she has seen a lot of cases and heard a lot of motives from criminals, she thought that she would become an understanding person because not confronting the person in question then taking a harsh action might make her regret her actions deeply. And she didn't really want to hurt the person that she loves so yeah, she keeps it all in.**

 **And here goes Shinichi, helping her realize that it's okay to have such feelings etc. I kinda used Shinichi to make Ran realize that while keeping it all in will lessen the number of people getting hurt, it's ruining her own self so she needs to let go of it. Then take actions to repair what was broken plus take responsibility for it.**

 **So ye, I did this out of place chapter omg i'm sorry. I just wanted Ran and Conan to really talk it out because you can't really have a relationship built with lies and secrets. They both understand yet it doesn't really mean that everything's a-okay. It happens in real life, right? It's like "I understand the reasons why you hate this person but hate is such a strong word..." AND MURDER CASES GUYS. The motives are basically useless because the guy is dead. you can't bring 'em back. It's permanent. Like a store with a 'no return, no exchange' policy.**

 **I hope you guys got what I was implying in this chapter haha. So after this, Ran and Conan/Shinichi are going to prank everyone HAHA I'M KIDDING. Ran feels a lot better now and Shinichi is also trying his best to adjust to Ran so they're gonna be chill with one another and have fun pretending around others.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **...even though I probably look like I dunno what I'm doing haha!**

 **Up next is probably the Ice cream date with some twists ofc.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Tadaima!"

The only female resident of the Mouri Detective Agency was met with silence. Ran quickly scanned the room just to find out that no one was inside the office. She pulled her cellphone out of her skirt pocket to check the time.

It was already 5:30 pm.

"Are? I'm sure Otou-san and Conan-kun should already be here before me because I have karate practice again. I'm supposed to be home a little later than usual so they should be..." With one last glance around the room, she placed her bag on the table then noticed that someone was peacefully sleeping on the sofa.

 _'How could I have missed this?"_ Ran furrowed her brows. _"Well, he's been shielded by the backrest and he's so small now but aside from that... how cute!"_

Ran smiled giddily as she approached the sleeping figure. She sneakily snapped a picture for future - _ahem-_ purposes before kneeling beside Conan to gently remove the book he was gripping away from his little fingers.

Scrutinizing the book that he was reading before his slumber, she heaved a sigh and smiled. _'He definitely fell asleep while reading the latest Detective Samonji book..._ _Typical Shinichi. Such a mystery geek indeed.'_

After placing the book on the table, _but not before bookmarking the page Conan was on,_ Ran chuckled lightly as she gently removed his eyeglasses to place them beside the book for safekeeping. She caressed his forehead, moving his hair away from his eyes.

 _'Look at how young and innocent you've become, Shinichi.'_ She slightly poked his soft cheeks with her finger and then placed her hand there. ' _And yet I can still see your adult self at times despite the cute mask...'_ Ran kissed Conan's forehead before standing up to call her father to ask him about his whereabouts. But she halted her steps when she heard a weak groan.

"Ran... neechan?"

Ran smiled apologetically at the disoriented boy. "Oh sorry, Conan-kun. Did I wake you?"

Conan stretched his limbs— _like a kitten according to a chuckling Ran—_ to remove the knots formed in his muscles due to his unintentional slumber and forced himself to sit up. Ran giggled as she watched him rub his eyes clumsily with his little hands in an attempt shake away his drowsiness. She grabbed his eyeglasses from the table to wear it on the slowly awakening shrunken teen.

"Not really. Thanks, Ran-neechan." He adjusted his glasses in place then yawned once more. "And okaeri."

Ran smiled in gratitude then kissed his cheek. "Where's Otou-san?"

"He rushed out of the office when I arrived from school while humming what I'm assuming is Okino-san's new song. He's even skipping in his steps like a schoolgirl..." Conan said dryly. "I figured that Okino-san called him for a TV guesting since I found the telephone not in place, the bathroom smelled like an aftershave and Occhan's best suit and tie is nowhere to be seen."

"And he didn't even invite us? Geez..." Ran pouted then huffed. "See if I cook his portion of dinner tonight."

Conan laughed. "He probably thought that we would become a nuisance again."

"That Otou-san... I just hope he doesn't encounter a murder case wherever he is right now or else he'll be in trouble."

Conan laughed dryly.

Ran smirked in Conan's direction. "Oh wait since the real murder magnet is here, he won't. I might need to be prepared for another body to drop somewhere near here though..."

"Oi..." The boy sweatdropped.

Ran crossed her arms and whispered. "Anyway, I still don't approve of the way you're using my father to show off your deductions. You sure that your tranquilizer darts won't hurt him in the long run?"

Conan laughed nervously. "Well, Agasa-hakase assured me that it's safe. Unfortunately, a child can only get so far in investigating cases and I won't do it in the first place if your dad just understood my hints correctly..."

"Ah well..." Ran sweatdropped. "He's just uhm slow on the uptake but he can do it if he tried."

"I know. Occhan has proved it in a few cases especially when Kisaki-san or his close friends were involved. Whenever I try to shoot him with my watch, my resolve wavers the moment I see his determined face so what can I do aside from helping it solve it on his own?"

Ran smiled. "He might be incompetent at times but give my father a chance before you do it your own way, okay?"

 _'At times? More like most of the time... but oh well.'_

"Don't worry. I always give him and everyone a chance to solve the mystery. Though when it goes to the wrong direction..."

Ran immediately got what he was implying.

 _'After all, it doesn't matter who solves the mystery as long as it's the truth. Right, Shinichi?'_

"I understand, thanks Conan-kun. But geez, where does he get all the confidence? You do all the work and yet Otou-san never wondered why he doesn't remember the cases that he 'solves'! I'm surprised the police can even get a statement from him after the case..."

"I'm surprised, too. Though you already know how I act when we're being interrogated at the station, right?"

Ran remembered the times when Conan actively presented himself to retell the _Sleeping Kogoro's perfect deduction_ and then exclaim on how awesome it was.

It was very... interesting.

"Ah, I see." Ran muttered dryly.

"But he's the reason why I can still somehow survive as a detective so I owe it to him." Conan smiled.

 _'That, and I'm indirectly putting Occhan into the line of fire but that's why I'm doing my best to prevent the worst possible outcome.'_

Ran cheerfully patted his head. "You know, you've changed."

"Well Ran, as you can see I am now an elementary school student. _Again_. So of course there's gonna be some change somewhere in there, if it's not obvious enough." Conan deadpanned.

Ran rolled her eyes. "Gee, glad to know that the jerk in you is still alive and kicking." She paused for a bit. "But seriously, you've become humble and somehow uhm..." The girl averted her eyes. "...cooler. I don't know but despite appearances, you've become more mature. And that's saying something because you've always acted older than your age ever since we met."

 _'Cooler, eh?'_

Conan smiled wistfully remembering the times that his life has been on the brink of no return after that fateful night in Tropical Land. "Thanks, Ran. I never imagined— not even once—that I'd become like this but I guess when a person's life is challenged, one is forced to change in order to survive. _Adaptation_. Also, I've told you that I've had a lot of close calls after _that night_ but thinking about you and the people around me helped in not giving up the fight. Especially you, Ran. I needed to get back to you so I'm not stopping this fight until I do."

Ran already knew this fact but hearing it again from his mouth made her feel overwhelmed by her best friend's determination. Choosing not to reply with words, Ran smiled and offered her hand to Conan. "Well, enough with the serious atmosphere! Who wants ice cream?"

Conan's eyes lit up and grabbed Ran's hand. "We're doing this now?"

"Why not? I'll call Otou-san first to let him know we're leaving and ask him if he's going to come home for dinner."

The shrunken teen grinned. "I thought you're not going to cook him his portion for tonight?"

"I'm not that heartless, Conan-kun. Besides, you know how he is when his belly's not satisfied." Ran laughed then excused herself to call her father.

Conan smiled as he watched Ran change her expressions from inquisitive, to annoyance, to worry and to resignation during the phone call. He figured from her face that her father was giving her troubles again but he knew that Ran won't take it into heart because she doesn't really mind as long as her father is safe.

 _'Yeah, that's what she is. Of all people, I know you are definitely not heartless, Ran.'_

* * *

Kogoro was not coming home for dinner because, as Ran expected, his mahjong friends invited him into an overnight tournament of sorts. Deciding not to cook dinner, Ran and Conan decided to eat out at _Poirot_ then went to the ice cream shop afterwards for dessert.

As they were greeted by the cool air the moment they entered the ice cream shop, the two decided to find a seat first before ordering. Ran was about to go to the counter but Conan volunteered to order for the both of them. Ran smiled to give her thanks and reached for her purse but Conan stopped her.

"It's my treat, Ran-neechan! You're always working so hard so you need to have your reward!" Before Ran could protest, Conan already reached the counter and began to subconsciously _charm_ the cashier with his cheerful antics.

"Mou, what's up with people not letting me pay...?" Ran softly chuckled as she observed how adorable Conan was acting in public. He was cutely pointing at the Chocolate mudslide and the Strawberry cheesecake ice cream on the menu with a big smile then nodding at the cashier to affirm his order.

 _'If only the cashier knew that she's being charmed by a 17-year old high school student...'_ She stared flatly at Conan and laughed dryly. _"Oh yeah, I forgot. He always charms the ladies even if he did not try..."_ She waved back when she noticed that Conan was pointing at her direction, probably to inform the cashier on where to deliver the desserts.

* * *

"Oh that's your nee-chan? She's really pretty! And she's lucky to have you as a little brother since you're doing this on your own!" The middle-aged cashier cooed as she handed his change.

"Thank you, Oba-san! Ah, Ran-neechan is not my real sister. She's just taking care of me since my parents are away because of work. She's really, really pretty and kind and strong and I love her cooking so much! Come here, oba-san, I'll tell you a secret!" Making sure that Ran wasn't looking their way, Conan waved for the woman to lend him her hear then whispered, "Please don't tell this to anyone but when I grow up, I'm going to marry Ran-neechan!"

The cashier gasped, "Oh my!"

"Hmm! So wish me luck, oba-san!" Conan grinned.

"I'm going to cheer for you, young man!" The woman patted Conan's head and smiled as she let the boy happily return to his nee-chan.

"Ah, the little joys in life..."

The woman decided that adding some extra toppings to the adorable boy's order won't hurt anyone.

* * *

"Wow, it tastes really good!"

"See? I told you this shop is really worth it!"

"Thanks for bringing me here, Ran-neechan!" Conan cheered as he took another spoonful of his Chocolate mudslide.

"You're welcome!" Ran reached for Conan's cheek to wipe off the smeared ice cream on his face. "Geez, don't get ice cream on your shirt, okay? It will be hard to come off when I do the laundry."

"Yes, Ran-neechan!" Conan replied with constant vigor.

The customers in the shop were whispering on how cute the 'brother-sister' pair was. Conan snickered inwardly as he watched them slowly but surely falling into his 'charm' though his momentary trance was shattered when Ran's voice came in.

"To be honest, it's kinda scary that you're really, really good at this, Conan-kun." Ran teased but making sure that they weren't heard by other people. "I'm still constantly falling under your 'childish charms' even after telling me the truth."

"Heh, It's because Ran-neechan loves me so much!" Conan exclaimed but stopped when he saw the disapproving glance of his companion.

 _'Just how much sugar did you eat, Shinichi?'_

 _'Sorry, sorry.'_

He laughed nervously then whispered, "Though it probably came from the genes..."

Ran then wholeheartedly agreed with a laugh.

 _"It's a pain when I slip up to being childish every time I return to my former self."_ Conan muttered in annoyance then shifted to his childish act again. "Remember when you told me that Shinichi-niichan called you his nee-chan after your play?"

Ran nodded. "I thought he was acting weird that day but now that I know why he was being like that, I'm not going to ever forget that moment." She ended her statement with a teasing grin.

Conan just stared flatly at Ran while the latter tried to avoid it by helping herself to another spoonful of the heavenly dessert that her best friend ordered for her. He was about to retort but the content expression plastered on the girl's face while she was eating the dessert made the poor boy's heart leap.

He let the words die in his mouth.

 _'Now who's the one falling for the other's charms? Damn it, Ran...'_

* * *

After finishing their ice creams, the duo immediately went home since it was getting late and it was a school night. The moment they entered the apartment, Conan's phone rang. He reached for his phone in his pocket while balancing himself to remove his shoes. Ran ended his misery by helping him pull out his shoes and stored it in the shoe cabinet. Conan whispered his thanks before finally picking up the call.

"Ah, Hattori?"

Heiji's cheerful voice chimed in. "Yo, Kudo! Have ya heard ta news?"

"Which one? If it's the evening one, I have no idea since Ran and I just got home from dinner. As a matter of fact, I literally just went inside the house so it took me a while to answer your call." Sensing that her presence was not needed anymore, Ran patted Conan's head to let him know that she's going to stay at her room to do her homework.

Ran kissed the boy's temple. _'Tell me about it later?'_

Conan nodded. _'Sure.'_

"Oi Kudo!" The shrunken teen winced at the volume.

"Sorry, sorry." He went straight to the receiving area and sat down on the floor. "Just figured that I needed to make myself comfortable first because I can sense that this talk will be important. So?"

Conan can probably _hear_ Heiji's grin at the end of the line. "Ya guessed it right. I called Otaki-han as soon as I got ta _news._ I asked 'im about ta details of ta story since I know ya'll be very interested."

 _'Interested, huh?'_ Conan shifted his phone to his other ear. "So what's it then?"

"It's about yer favourite jewel thief. He sent a notice to Osaka Police HQ!"

 _'He's definitely not my favorite, though...'_ Conan laughed dryly. "So, in Osaka... Police HQ?"

 _'Nakamori-keibu's gonna flip when he hears about this.'_

"Yeah! I'm not sure why but ta notice said tha' he's gonna snatch a diamond from ta Thailand crown jewels on ta next full moon. Apparently, Thailand agreed to put up an exhibit here in Osaka. Am not surprised tha' they picked t'is place since Osaka is very beautiful!"

"Diamond...? Knowing KID, he might probably target the largest jewel there which is called, if I'm not mistaken, _The Golden Jubilee._ "

"Yeah, I think tha' was ta name."

"So what do you expect me to do? I can't really do anything since I'm in Tokyo and Ran would definitely make a fuss if she found out that I travelled to Osaka alone _on a school day._ "

 _'Well not really... because Ran already knows about me but Occhan's going to be a problem. He hadn't received any work recently and Ran's ransacking her brain for us to survive this month. Geez, that oyaji...'_

Heiji clicked his tongue. "It's a shame 'cause ta heist notice was addressed to ya, Kudo Shinichi-kun."

"WHAT!?" Conan shouted. In the other room, Ran was startled by her best friend's shout that she almost fell off her chair. She struggled to get outside her room and dashed straight to where the boy was.

"CONAN-KUN!?"

 _'Thank goodness she didn't shout my real name..._ '

"A-Ah, Ran-neechan!"

Scanning the room for intruders, she finally relaxed when she realized that there was no serious threat to Conan. "...what happened?"

"Erm, it's nothing! Heiji-niichan just startled me, that's all!" Conan chirped as he pointed at his phone.

Ran raised her eyebrow as if saying ' _I know something's up so we will definitely talk about that later.'_ then went back to her room after clapping his shoulder.

The boy sweatdropped and returned to his phone conversation.

"Wow, Neechan's really pumped."

 _'Can anyone blame her? She completely aware of my circumstances and knowing her, she'll be more paranoid about it than I. But going back to the more pressing matter...'_

"Why in the world would he do that!?" Conan hissed.

"I dunno. I'll send ya an image of ta notice later fer ya to analyze. Tho' there's nothing much to analyze..."

 _'Nothing much to analyze?'_

"Okay, thanks Hattori. I'll also show this to Ran later so that we'll be able to come as erm, Kudo Shinichi's representatives."

"Alright. But just be careful, Kudo. Since KID boldly included ya in ta notice, _those guys_ might suddenly be on high alert. If I just got ta notice first before it got to ta media then I could've excluded yer name there..." Heiji clicked his tongue in regret.

Conan swore. "It's okay, Hattori. If I get my hands on that thief, I swear I'll..."

Heiji sweatdropped as he listened to his best friend's dark mutterings about a certain white-clad phantom thief. It was weird though because despite his best friend's true age, he still sounds like a kid and a child using such colorful words is such a rare occurrence. He tried very hard to suppress his laugh. "Calm down. Neechan will probably lecture you if she heard her _little innocent Conan-kun_ mutter such colorful words. I'll do wha' I can on my side too so dun worry. Warn ta li'l neechan an' be careful 'bout ta big Neechan."

 _'I'll definitely warn Haibara although the Organization doesn't have an inkling that Kudo Shinichi has a connection with Sherry. And for them, Sherry is already dead so it's pointless to look for her. As for Ran... at least I won't have any problems regarding this.'_

"Thanks a lot, Hattori. We'll definitely be there on Osaka."

"A'right. Just call me or Kazuha before ya leave. I'll send ya ta heist notice via mail after t'is call."

"Okay, thanks again, Hattori."

"Sure, Kudo. Say hi to Neechan for me will ya? And I was really hoping that you weren't kidding about your question the last time we talked. It's been too long and Neechan needs to know."

 _'Oh Hattori, only if you knew.'_

Conan took a deep breath. "You already know what my answer will be, Hattori. And don't worry, I'll tell Ran that you said hi."

The shrunken teen heard Hattori sigh in resignation. "It's yer choice. Anyway, dun forget ta call me when ya leave fer Osaka, 'kay?"

"Sure, sure. Thanks, Hattori. Also, be extra careful because I kinda have a bad feeling about this heist."

"Sure, Kudo. And you're not the only one. Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

 _'Ah speak of the devil and it shall appear.'_ After Heiji and Conan's conversation, Haibara Ai called him.

"Kudo-kun?"

"Haibara."

"I'm taking it that you already know why I called."

"Well, your guess is right. Hattori called me just now to inform me of the _good news._ " Conan muttered dryly.

"And I'm also guessing that you're willing to fall into his trap?"

Conan snorted. "Trap? None of the sort. But I'm going to Osaka to do some damage control."

"Well then, just do it right. I'd hate for our hard work to just crumble and fall apart. Just a single slip of tongue will cause our identities to be leaked. Well, you're very much aware of that fact and the consequences that went along it so I expect you to not act foolishly. And no, I'm not giving you any temporary antidote." Haibara finished wryly.

 _'I know I've said this a lot of times but I don't even want to think about what she'll do to me once she finds out that Ran already knows...'_

Conan clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I wasn't going to ask you about that but... whatever. Just stay put in Hakase's house. Since the organization knows that Sherry is dead, they won't look for you. Although there's a risk that they might find me but... I think it's a very, very low possibility."

Conan decided to leave out the _'...as of now.'_ at the end of his sentence because he knows Haibara will get extra paranoid again.

 _'But Subaru-san will definitely protect Haibara so she doesn't have to worry.'_

"Get off the high horse, Kudo-kun. A very low chance is still something so don't get reckless." Haibara warned.

"Yes, yes. They're not stupid enough to commit a crime during KID's heist anyway. Too many police officers are present and the crowd will be suffocating. It might be good in using the crowd as cover but I don't think they'll cause a ruckus in an internationally-broadcasted event. They might get exposed in the public if they acted rashly and that's not a risk they're willing to take." Conan said in a bored tone.

Haibara was silent for a few moments.

"Oi, Haibara you still alive?"

"...you're planning something, aren't you?"

"Haah?"

Conan can imagine Haibara rolling her eyes at the end of the line. "Whatever, Kudo-kun. You're too smart to just assume their moves too quickly."

"You think too highly of me, Haibara. I'm just an ' _idiot mystery otaku'_ according to some people I know."

"Well they're right." The scientist scoffed. "... just be careful."

Click.

"Oi!" Conan stared flatly on his phone for a few seconds. "She actually hanged up..."

A few moments later, he shrugged and stood up to go into Ran's room.

Then he smirked.

"Well then, time to prepare for our journey to the _West_."

* * *

At Agasa-hakase's house, Haibara pocketed her phone, grabbed a new lab coat from her dresser and went straight to her lab. She sat on her chair and went to type something on her computer.

 _'Antidote, eh?'_

* * *

Ran settled herself near the bed's headboard. When Shinichi knocked on her door earlier, she was just finalizing her answers on her homework so she didn't mind the intrusion. She was the one who asked him to come anyway.

Patting the space beside her, Ran silently asked her shrunken boyfriend to settle down. Shinichi complied and told Ran about what the phone call with Hattori was all about. After Shinichi was done, Ran was very worried.

"Shinichi, are you sure that you're going to this heist?"

Shinichi shrugged. "This is the best choice, Ran. Of course, Kudo Shinichi won't appear in the heist since he's supposedly _dead_ — well at least to the people who did this to me..." He pointed at himself then continued, "...but the masses didn't know about that. All they know is that the Great High School Detective of the East has been missing-in-action for months. Stories about my death are probably going around but there's no confirmation about it. And with the sudden revival of my name because of this notice, it will cause a sudden ruckus that will make the Black Organization alarmed. This heist will be their big chance to confirm whether Kudo Shinichi is really dead or not based on his appearance during the heist."

Ran hugged her pillow tightly. "...This is really bad, isn't it?"

Shinichi took her hand and smiled bitterly. "Don't worry; I won't let them touch you or your family."

Ran squeezed his hand. "I know. I have faith in you. But I can't really help but worry since your safety is on the line here."

"I'll manage. I always do. I have allies that also want to bring down that organization so I will not be alone in this fight. Besides, they will not look for a kid. But Ran, are you sure that you want to go with me? You'll be missing school... and it will be dangerous."

"Of course I am! It's not like I can't defend myself. Besides, it'll be a bonus if I landed some kick on Kaitou KID." Ran's expression darkened. "I think I need to jog his memory about what he did to me before... and of course remind him not to blatantly use other people's names without their permission."

Shinichi shivered at the thought of KID being at the _mercy_ of Ran. _'I have half the heart to pity that old phantom thief but eh, he deserves it for messing with us.'_

"Relax, Shinichi. I'm just joking about the last part." Ran giggled. "Kidding aside, you need a bodyguard and I'm the perfect person for that job! Nobody will get wary of me because I'll just look like an overprotective sister, eh?" She winked.

 _'Really, Ran...'_ Shinichi laughed dryly. "Good luck on that."

"Hey, do you doubt my ability to fight?" Ran pouted.

Shinichi raised his hands in defense. "No, no. Not at all!"

 _'Although you suddenly forget your karate when supernatural things are involved...'_

"Anyway, when is the heist?"

"Ah according to this notice," Shinichi touched his phone to revive his phone and showed Ran the image of the heist notice that Hattori sent him a while ago. "Here."

Ran read the notice aloud.

 _'In the night of the blue moon, yours truly will collect the most precious diamond in Thailand's crown jewels which is to be temporarily housed in the nineteeth tallest building in Osaka._

 _P.S. I'd be very grateful if the Great Detective of the East attends my little entertainment show._

 _\- Kaitou Kid'_

"Hmm, I think this notice is pretty straightforward. Even I, a normal person can decipher it even for a bit. I heard at the morning news that a second full moon will come the day after tomorrow but I'm not really sure about the location..." She hummed in thought.

"Umeda Sky Building. It consists of two 40-storey buildings which are connected at the top by a floating garden observatory. His target is probably _The Golden Jubilee_ , previously called as _the Unnamed Brown_ , the largest faceted diamond ever cut in the world weighing at 545.67 carats. It was given to the King of Thailand as a gift before and now it's included in the royalty's crown jewels. I just checked online and saw that it was being loaned to Japan for a few days for an exhibit to strengthen the trust between the two countries. Unfortunately, it's being targeted by KID though he'll probably return it in the end as always. But if something bad happens, it might affect the trade relations between the Japan and Thailand."

"That sounds troublesome..." Then Ran stared flatly at Shinichi. "You really do know everything, eh?"

"Eh? Erm, I just read it before so..." Shinichi scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Anyway! Adding that problem to the fact that KID basically made my name famous again overnight is a pain in the ass. Well, at least he didn't blatantly write my name. So it's probably the media's fault for assuming that _'Kudo Shinichi'_ was the person that KID wanted to attend. Though I have no idea why he's inviting the representative of the East while he's in the West. Hattori's in there so why...?" Shinichi touched his chin in thought.

"Are you sure that the heist notice is really from KID?" Ran tilted her head.

"Eh?"

"Because as I've said earlier, his notice looked too simple. Even I, a normal person, can easily decipher it if I just use the internet to search for the terms. Usually KID's notices are riddles, right? I think the doodle was the same as the previous ones but... maybe someone is using KID's name to lure you out? Or I'm just overthinking...?"

At this, Ran noticed that Shinichi's eyes were widely opened.

"Shinichi...?"

"I see. So that's why..."

"Shinichi?"

"Thanks, Ran. You're right, there's a high possibility that Kaitou KID is not behind this heist notice. Though I'm still not completely dismissing the possibility that he really sent that notice by himself. But if it's a fabrication, based on what happened to the 'Seiran' painting before, he'll most likely appear to investigate about the dubious heist notice. I think KID was originally going to steal the jewel but unfortunately, he was late in sending the notice. Seeing that at the same time, it was convenient for him to get the jewel while he's finding the culprit, he'll go." Shinichi smirked. "This will be an interesting scenario if this happens..."

Ran shook her head. "Shinichi, this is really getting complicated yet you look so happy. Geez... "

 _'I sincerely apologize for being excited whenever there's mystery involved...'_ Shinichi awkwardly laughed to conceal his growing embarrassment. "I know. I need to call Hattori as soon as possible to warn him about this new perspective on the heist. Although it might have crossed his mind already but it's better to be safe than sorry. Thanks again for the insight, Ran."

Ran blushed at the detective's acknowledgement but happy that she was of help. "Uhm... it's nothing...?"

"Anyway, we'll leave tomorrow after school. Do you want to bring Occhan with us?"

"No. Don't worry I'll come up with something but I want my father out of this. He's already exposed as it is and..." She averted her eyes and bit her lip.

Shinichi smiled with sympathy. "I understand, Ran. Don't worry. I have friends that will watch over him. He'll be fine."

Ran just nodded in reply. Shinichi pulled her hand gently and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's get some sleep now, eh? We'll have a long day starting tomorrow."

Ran kissed his cheek in return. "Okay. Good night, Shinichi. Do you need help in packing?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks. Good night, Ran." Shinichi smiled at Ran for the last time in the night and went out of Ran's room.

* * *

"Oh wait, Shinichi?"

"Yes, Ran?"

"It's a miracle that no one died around you today."

"...Leave me alone."

Ran's laugh was the last thing he heard before he finally shut the door.

* * *

Click.

"Hello Hattori? Do you mind hearing me out right now? I need your help with this."

Conan's eyeglasses gleamed.

"And I assure you this will be worth your time."

* * *

 **I'M SORRY FOR UPDATING SO LATE**

 **I've been busy last week so I had to miss last week's update. Though I'm not saying that I'm definitely gonna update this weekly but so far, I've been doing it like that so people might be wondering where the hell I am**

 **This was supposed to be the heist chapter but well, shit happened so it's gonna be on the next chapter instead**

 **ALSO! I finished my Detective Conan marathon last Friday! It took me two months since I didn't really watch it without breaks...**

 **I still don't know why I still make author's notes because I'm pretty sure no one reads ANs.**


	5. Chapter 5

Seeking Kogoro's permission was fairly easy. Ran didn't even have to raise her fist to convince the older detective to let them travel to Osaka on a school day.

It was by pure coincidence that Ran's father was having a get together with his college friends that night so he won't be able to accompany the two children to Osaka. Adding Hattori's mother's reassurance via phone call, Kogoro gave in and let Ran and Conan do whatever they wanted.

"Just don't fool around there, hah? And yes, I'm talking to you, freeloader. You always have the tendency to run away so don't trouble Ran so much!"

Then came a cheerful reply. "Hai, oji-saaan!"

 _'Although you should probably stay out of trouble, too, Occhan…'_ Conan thought flatly.

"Take care of yourself, Otou-san! Don't trouble Okaa-san later at your dinner, okay?" Ran reminded her father with a wave of a finger.

"Hahhh? Who said that I'll be having dinner with—"

Ran just rolled her eyes. "She told me when I asked permission for Osaka." _'Irritably.'_

Kogoro scoffed but the two didn't miss the small blush on his cheeks. Ran and Conan swallowed down their giggles, just to spare the poor man's so-called _pride_. "Whatever, just go to Osaka already! Just be thankful that I'm the kind of parent who is reasonable in letting you miss classes! Good thing Megure-keibu helped in vouching for you. That detective brat better repay you for this!"

A bead of sweat rolled down the shrunken teen's forehead. _'Believe me, Occhan. I'm in the process of repaying her now.'_

"Hai, hai." Ran kissed her father's cheek before gathering their luggage. "See you in a few days! I've already told Azusa-san that you'll be having meals at Poirot while I'm gone so don't worry!"

Conan waved. "Bye, Oji-san!"

The older man just grunted and waved goodbye to the two.

Conan inwardly snickered.

 _'_ _Occhan: 0, Ran: 1'_

Ran grabbed his hand and smiled. "Let's go, Conan-kun?"

"Okay, Ran-neechan!"

* * *

"Hello Hattori?"

"Oh Kudo!"

"Ran and I are gonna go there now. Our flight's scheduled at 6:15 pm so see you in a few hours."

"I see. No Mouri-tantei with ya?"

"Nah. He had other plans for the night."

"A'right. See ya in a few hours."

Click.

* * *

"Kazuha-chan!"

"Ran-chan!"

The two girls hugged and were smiling from ear-to-ear. They haven't seen each other since the last case and it felt like it was ages ago.

(Actually it was just a month ago but let's just ignore the technicalities, shall we?)

"It's such a shame that Kudo-kun's not gonna make it."

Ran tried hard not to glance at Conan's way. "Can't help it. He's stuck in another case and he can't go to Osaka in time."

Kazuha grinned. "So he sent his girlfriend in his place, eh?"

Ran's cheeks felt like burning but tried to laugh it off. "N-no! I-I'm just accompanying Conan-kun, that's all. Shinichi told me that Conan-kun's very much capable since he's the 'Kid Killer' anyway."

Kazuha nodded slowly. "Well, that's true…"

"Also, Hattori-kun's here so it'll be fine!"

"Ehhhhh, is that so?" Kazuha dragged, glancing at Heiji's way.

The Great Detective of the West raised his eyebrow. "Wha' was that, Kazuha?"

"Nothin' ahou. It's just that KID invited Kudo-kun who's from Tokyo instead of ya. Does that mean Kudo-kun's a more worthy opponent, eh?"

"Ahou! I dun deal with stupid, old thieves so I dun really care! Besides, they have this rivalry goin' on between them so who am I to intrude?"

Kazuha rolled her eyes, making Hattori ticked. "Yeah right. Not that I saw ya with a depressed face after Otaki-han called."

Hattori flushed in embarrassment. "Why you—"

While their friends were arguing, Ran and Conan exchanged a subtle glance. They both shrugged and sighed, looking back to the bickering duo.

 _'Here they go again…'_

The faux child tugged on Ran's sleeve. "Ran-neechan, wanna sit for a bit? Knowing them, this might take a while…"

"Alright, I'll take that offer Conan-kun. Thanks. Want some juice?"

"Sure. Thanks, Ran-neechan!"

"You're always welcome!"

The Tokyoites sat on the nearby bench and casually sipped on their drinks while waiting for the two raging storms to subside.

* * *

"It's always fun seeing you two overflowing with sexual tension, Hattori." Conan's voice was laced with sarcasm. "As usual."

"Shut it, Kudo!" Heiji hissed.

Conan rolled his eyes then sent a teasing grin towards the Osakan boy's way. "But it's true. Ah now that we're on this topic, I should probably tell you Haibara still didn't change her ringtone yet."

Hattori sighed miserably. "Ya went to Osaka just to gossip about this?"

The faux boy decided to spare his friend from further embarrassment by changing the topic but not before shooting a meaningful snicker at Hattori. "Did Nakamori-keibu and his team arrive yet?"

Hattori, ignoring his friend's insinuation, was able to immediately compose himself back to normal and answered, "Yeah. They arrived this morning an' is currently flockin' the sky build."

 _'Well, what can you expect? It's Nakamori-keibu…'_

"And did you tell them that Kudo Shinichi will not arrive in the heist?"

"Yeah. An' honestly, Nakamori-keibu doesn't care about Kudo appearing at the heist. An' I quote, _'Good! That's one annoying brat out of the way! I'm the one who will catch that damn thief!'_ Tho' he got angry real quick when I told 'em that ya guys were comin' in his place." Hattori laughed.

Conan laughed dryly in return. _'Well technically I'm still here so sorry for being an annoying brat, Nakamori-keibu.'_

"Ah, I almost forgot!" The Osakan boy suddenly exclaimed. Conan just raised his brow in inquiry.

Heiji clapped his hands to get the chattering girls' attention from their girly conversation. "So wanna get ta best okonomiyaki in Japan?"

"I hope and pray that we'll be able to finally eat it this time…" Conan whispered.

"Kudo, please let Neechan find a priest ta exorcise ya." The Osakan detective murmured flatly.

Conan was not entirely pleased especially when he saw Ran, who was obviously eavesdropping, trying to stop her laugh from coming. Since he can't be openly _affectionate_ to his _dear Ran-neechan_ , he glared at Heiji with twice the intensity instead.

"You shut it Hattori or else Haibara will be coming here real quick with her _LG Prada phone_."

Heiji was about to open his mouth but was cut off when Conan continued.

"And I will message her the moment she arrives within Kazuha-san's vicinity. _Many times._ "

The Osakan teenager shut up faster than a speeding bullet.

 _'Well ignoring the actual physics surrounding it but whatever, this reaction still looks hilarious.'_ Conan smirked and glanced briefly at Ran. _'At least I stopped Ran from sending the recording to Kazuha-san. He better be thankful about this.'_

Ran stifled her snort under her hand.

"Ran-chan, are ya okay?"

She waved her hands in dismissal. "Don't worry, Kazuha-chan! I just remembered something funny from a long time ago."

"Does it involve Kudo-kun?" The ponytailed girl questioned with a grin.

Ran giggled. "Well, in a way…"

"Ooooh, tell me about it!"

 _'Ran, what exactly are you telling Kazuha-san about me?'_ Conan sweatdropped.

"Oi ya two! Let's get to ta shop a'ready or else we're not gonna 'ave anythin' fer dinner!" Heiji called.

Kazuha checked her watch. "Oh my! We've been stallin' here fer almost an hour now."

Ran and Conan almost fell on the floor.

 _'If you guys didn't bicker for so long, then we would have left earlier!'_

Kazuha slightly pulled Ran's arm. "Let's go, Ran-chan! We'll finally be able to make you taste the greatest okonomiyaki in Japan!"

The girl just laughed and let her excited friend drag her towards a grinning Heiji and Conan.

* * *

Fortunately, they were able to make it in time to finally enjoy the okonomiyaki that everyone's been craving for ever since they all met for the first time.

Ran patted Conan's head as a reward for not attracting any murders during the meal.

Conan was not amused but it was undeniable that he appreciated the gentle contact very much.

* * *

They arrived at the Hattori residence an hour before midnight and since it was inconvenient for Kazuha to go home, Shizuka-san, Hattori's mother, let her stay.

"Thanks, Oba-san! I'll leave early in the morning so that I can prepare fer school." Kazuha bowed.

"No need for thanks, Kazuha-chan. You've always been with my Heiji so I also think of ya as my own child." Shizuka smiled. "And I a'ready called yer mother an' she said that yer father will bring yer things here tomorrow morning."

If faces could burn, then Kazuha's already in flames. "T-Thank ya, Oba-san…"

To save Kazuha from further embarrassment, Ran decided to speak up. "Thank you again for letting us stay in your wonderful home, Hattori-kun no obaasan."

"Ah, Ran-san an' Conan-kun! No need fer thanks, young lady. And no need fer formalities, my dear so please make yerselves at home. Oh by the way, did my Heiji arrive in time?"

"Oh yes, and he also treated us at the famous okonomiyaki shop here so we felt very much welcomed." The Tokyo girl smiled.

"Good, good. I know that ya two are exhausted from yer flight so I'll show ya yer rooms now. Since Kazuha-chan will also be staying, she'll be with ya in the guestroom while Conan-kun will stay with Heiji. Is that a'right?"

"Oh, that's alright Shizuka-san. Thank you." Ran slightly bowed to express her gratitude to the older woman then turned her attention to Conan. "Conan-kun, avoid troubling Hattori-kun too much, okay? At least for tonight. We had a long day and I know that you're tired so don't sleep so late, alright?"

In his mind, Conan translated Ran's words as:

 _'I know you're excited to talk about the heist with Hattori-kun but please, don't forget to sleep okay? You'll need the energy for tomorrow.'_

"Okay, I won't bother Heiji-niichan too much, Ran-neechan! And don't worry about me! I promise I'll go straight to sleep so good night! Sweet dreams!" The boy reached out to hug the taller girl and kissed her on the cheek. Both missed the strange look on Hattori's face and the other females' cooing about how cute the two are.

Ran smiled and patted Conan's head. "You too. Good night, Conan-kun!"

After one last squeeze, they pulled away from the embrace. The boy smiled and started to walk away while waving enthusiastically at his 'caretaker'. He tried to get Heiji's attention by tugging at his sleeves.

"Let's go to sleep now, Heiji-niichan! Tomorrow is a big day!" He chirped.

Hattori now had a smug grin plastered in his face and the _little boy_ didn't like it. He picked Conan up by the collar and turned to the direction of his room. "A'right kiddo, let's go. G'night, Okan. G'night Kazuha an' Neechan." He waved before he walked away with a struggling Conan.

"Hattori-kun! Conan-kun's choking!" Ran exclaimed.

"Whoops." Heiji set the gasping boy down and was met with a reprimanding look from Ran. "Sorry, sorry."

Conan's caretaker shook her head. _'Seriously, these two are so…_ ' She sighed and waved at the two boys for the last time while Kazuha called Heiji for the last time.

"Dun make Conan-kun stay up late, ya ahou! G'night!"

"An' dun make Neechan stay up late either, ya ahou!"

Shizuka, who was observing them in silence, just smiled at the children's antics. After her son was gone from their sight, she called the attention of the two girls.

"Okay, Ran-san an' Kazuha-chan, let's go to your room, shall we?"

The girls agreed and let the older woman lead them towards their shared room.

* * *

After settling down in their room, Kazuha was gushing on how adorable Conan was acting earlier.

"Ran-chan, I didn't know that Conan-kun can be so adorable like that!"

Ran titled her head in confusion. "Eh? What about Conan-kun, Kazuha-chan?"

"He's so adorable, givin' his older sister a good night kiss! Maybe I should've asked fer one, too…"

Ran smiled but on the inside, she was a bit nervous. _'Oh no, we totally let our guards down earlier… Don't worry, Ran. No one will get suspicious because it just looked like a gesture of sibling affection. Calm down.'_

"A-Ah! Conan-kun always does that whenever it's bed time or when he's leaving the house. I guess it was the first time that you saw it happening. He's usually very shy about it so maybe he was just too sleepy to remember that he had an audience earlier when he did it."

"I understand. He was probably tired from the flight so he let his guard down. Ya know how mature that kid's actin' sometimes but seeing him like that gave me a refreshing feeling about him. Ya two really have a good relationship—Like real siblings. Despite us being in a single-child family, we both have ahou's as childhood friends so we weren't really alone… but well ya know it's a different case."

Ran sweatdropped. "True. We fell in love with them instead."

A blushing Kazuha tried to protest but stopped when she realized that she already admitted her feelings towards her childhood friend to Ran. She slumped in defeat and let out a sigh. "With an ahou…"

The Tokyo girl patted the sighing girl. _'Oh Kazuha-chan, if you only knew what's happening…'_

"I guess I felt a very special connection to Conan-kun since he reminded me a lot of Shinichi. Not that it's surprising since he's distantly related to Shinichi and all of Conan's knowledge came from the mystery geek." Ran explained. _'What an understatement though…'_

"Be careful, Ran-chan. Conan-kun's tendency of suddenly runnin' away whenever he smells a case was probably inherited from yer boyfriend." Kazuha lightly warned.

Ran laughed at the statement. "Don't worry. I have it under control."

Kazuha joined her in laughing, too.

"Ne, Ran-chan?"

"Yes, Kazuha-chan?"

"I noticed this earlier but didn't have the chance to confront ya about it..."

"What is it?"

"Ya usually dun wear earrings but I can't help but notice the pretty ones that yer wearin' right now." Kazuha pointed at Ran's ears. "So I figured that it's an important pair. Did yer mom give them to ya?"

Blood surged into Ran's cheeks and smiled shyly. "No... Shinichi gave them to me. Well, he asked Conan-kun to give them to me in his place since he's still not done with the case but still..." She tenderly touched her ears and spoke softly. "He said it was a symbol of his promise to return to me someday..."

Kazuha squealed. "That's so sweet, Ran-chan! I'm happy fer ya!" She hugged the other girl who just laughed bashfully. "He might be actin' as a jerk sometimes fer leaving a pretty girl like ya waitin' fer so long, but I can feel that he loves ya very much."

Ran smiled. _'I know, Kazuha-chan. I know.'_

"You think so, Kazuha-chan?"

"Hmm!" Kazuha nodded. But a few moments later, her enthusiastic mood suddenly died down. She averted her eyes from her friend's and mumbled softly. "I wish Heiji could be sweet like tha'... But what can I expect? He's an ahou."

Ran smiled, remembering Conan's story about Heiji's possessive declaration at Ebisu bridge.

* * *

 _"And he was like, 'Wacha doin' to my Kazuha!' then dropped the call. The kids and I heard everything and luckily I was able to save a recording of that. Hattori made me erase the file due to a favor involving a case but too bad, the kids also had a recording of that. Haibara even uses that as her ringtone and I swear it's hilarious!'_

 _Ran giggled. She thought that Shinichi was acting like a real child while trying to tease Hattori. "You're so mean, Shinichi, blackmailing Hattori-kun like that. When Kazuha-chan confronted Hattori-kun about it when we were in Kamaitachi Inn, he twisted the statement again and got away with it. Poor Kazuha-chan was so confused. Geez, those two are so..."_

 _Shinichi snorted. "He's been blackmailing me ever since he knew about my identity but let's spare Hattori the trouble for the meantime. I think he's trying his best to tell Kazuha-san his feelings. That's an improvement since he's been in denial since forever." He rolled his eyes briefly then menacingly smiled._

 _"But I'll kick him where the sun doesn't shine if he screws this up."_

 _"And I'm going to help you with that, Shinichi. Trust me."_

* * *

Ran rubbed Kazuha's back gently. "Don't worry, Kazuha-chan. Somehow, I can feel that Hattori-kun treasures you greatly. Maybe he's just finding the right timing to properly tell you about his feelings." She chuckled. "It's kinda hard to love a detective, you see? Shinichi's somewhere far, trying his best to solve a very hard case that he's been working on for almost a year, leaving me here patiently waiting for his return. But I don't mind since I know that he's worth it."

 _'Although, he really never left me.'_

Ran made Kazuha face her and looked straight into her eyes. "Do you think waiting for Hattori-kun is worth it, Kazuha-chan?"

Kazuha's reply was immediate.

"It is, Ran-chan. It is. Even if he's an ahou, or if he doesn't love me now... my feelings will be the same. And I'll always be by his side." The girl's eyes were brimming with tears. "You're so strong, Ran-chan. I don't think I could handle the pain if Heiji suddenly disappeared for a long time."

Ran shook her head. "I cried so many times wishing that he would come back to soon. The phone calls were rare and whenever I ask him when he's going to return, he's being so evasive. It felt so painful knowing that our relationship was slowly changing to the point where I'm not even sure if I still knew my childhood friend. I'm not going into the details but something happened recently to the two of us and suddenly, I felt a sense of security and curiosity. I finally knew where I stood in his life and the only thing that I can do is to him give my support and wait for his return."

Kazuha wanted to ask what happened between her the couple but decided to withdraw when she saw Ran's pleading face. "Ran-chan..."

"So don't lose hope, Kazuha-chan! It will come in due time. If you want, I could make Shinichi convince Hattori-kun to just go do it!" Ran laughed.

"Ran-chan!" Kazuha exclaimed. "Thanks but ya dun have to ask him fer me. I'm fine." The Osakan girl hugged her friend. "Kudo-kun is very lucky to have ya. An' of course, I'm also lucky to have ya as a friend!"

Ran smiled brightly. "I'm lucky to have you as a friend, too, Kazuha-chan! I guess we have to thank our idiot detectives for that, ne?"

Kazuha rubbed her eyes. "Sorry fer suddenly bein' so dramatic. Geez, love really makes people so mushy an' stupid! But we should probably go to sleep now, eh? Since tomorrow's gonna be a long day. An' Heiji's gonna blab if he finds out that ya didn't sleep enough!"

The other girl just giggled. "I agree. Don't worry, I'll definitely protect you from Hattori-kun. Good night, Kazuha-chan!"

"No need, Ran-chan. I'll personally throw him where the sun doesn't shine! Good night, Ran-chan!"

After settling on the bed with Kazuha, Ran's thoughts before closing her eyes were on Shinichi. _'It's good that he's with Hattori-kun right now since he can take his mask off after a very long day and be himself around him. But I'm a little bit worried about Shinichi since Hattori-kun also saw that…'_

* * *

The moment Heiji closed the door, his smug grin turned wolfish. "Oooooh, so Conan-kun's gettin' so affectionate to his Ran-neechan, eh?"

Conan's face was blank. "Huh?"

"What ya did to neechan!"

"Uhh…"

"Hug an' kiss on the cheek? Did ya really become a real kid now or—"

 _'Now I know why I didn't like that smug smile earlier…'_ Conan laughed dryly. "If you were that jealous, then ask Kazuha-san if you can do it with her, too."

That definitely wiped the smug look on Heiji's face.

"And come on, can't I kiss my girlfriend? Even at this state, I can still give her a kiss, right?" The faux child said nonchalantly. "Not on the lips though, that's still scandalous now but you get my point."

The Osakan detective's face was pale and started stammering.

"A-Are ya an' N-Neechan…? D-Did ya finally—"

"I'm kidding, Hattori. Relax. And sorry but Ran still doesn't know about Conan's real identity." Conan rolled his eyes. "It's just something a little kid would do to his favorite 'neechan' before going to sleep. It'll be more convincing that way, right? Shinichi won't do those kinds of things to Ran so no one will suspect me."

 _'Haha... though that's pure bullshit. That's just a normal kiss on the chee_ _k. It was a habit ever since Ran found out. Not that Hattori needed to know about that.'_

"Ugh yer so infuriatin', Kudo! Neechan's gonna kill ya when she finds out…"

"It seems that infuriating people is what I do best, Hattori." He rolled his eyes in sarcasm. "Also, I've been prepared for that horrible consequence ever since the lie started so..." Conan shrugged.

The taller teenager just gave the shrunken teen an are-you-serious-look.

Conan decided to ignore the stare and started to rummage his backpack for his change of clothes. "We need to rest now especially you, since I don't think Kazuha-san would let you skip classes."

"Che, as if I'd be stopped by that woman…"

The shorter detective stared at Heiji flatly. "Trust me, Hattori. Don't underestimate what childhood friends can do."

Both shuddered at the thought. After a few moments, Hattori suddenly clapped his hands.

"Ah! I forgot to ask Okan for a futon so I'll just grab something from the other room. Wait, is a futon a'right with ya?"

"Yeah, it's fine thanks. To be honest, everything's fine as long as I can't hear Occhan's snoring…"

Hattori barked a laugh at that. "The bathroom's just around ta corner so do yer thing already so that we can sleep afterwards."

"Sure, sure. See you later."

"Yeah."

* * *

 **/**

 **From: Shinichi**

 **Subj: -blank-**

 **. . .**

 **Ran,**

 **I know it was hard for you to keep this from another friend. Yes, I know about Kazuha-san asking you about your earrings. I noticed that she's been staring at it since we arrived so I figured that she's gonna ask about it since she' been fidgety around you. I know you were having troubles in talking to Kazuha-san about me so I'm sorry that you were doing _this_ because of this stupid, mystery freak. But I promise that I will make it up to you.**

 **Good night. I love you.**

 **Shinichi.**

 **/**

* * *

 **/**

 **From: Ran**

 **Subj: -blank-**

 **. . .**

 **Baka. Why are you still awake? Children should go to bed early! (laughs)**

 **And of course, you were able to deduce that. You should book your deduction skills a vacation. They might be overly used already. Kidding.**

 **It isn't like you to be sappy, Shinichi. Even calling yourself a stupid, mystery freak? The world must be ending! (sweatdrop)**

 **Don't worry about me. It's okay. You know I've already made the decision, right? So stop those stupid ideas of me being troubled because of your secret get into your brain.**

 **And you've already agreed to be my punching bag when you return, right? So prepare for that! (fist emoticon)**

 **Geez, I think Kazuha-chan's onto our conversation so I'll end this now. Good night! I love you, too! (kiss)**

 **Ran.**

 **/**

* * *

 **/**

 **From: Shinichi**

 **Subj: Don't reply**

 **. . .**

 **For your information Ran-san, I'm already in bed! This guy here went to go get my futon since we had a sudden change of room assignments so it took some time. And it seems that you girls were also still awake. Kazuha-san has classes so go to sleep already! :P**

 **Sweet dreams.**

 **Shinichi.**

 **/**

* * *

Kazuha won against Heiji that morning.

The Osakan high school detective was eager to skip school to tour Ran and Conan around some places in Osaka before the heist but his childhood friend 'kindly' reminded him that they had an important exam today.

"Wait, that was today!?"

"Yes! Ya claim thar ya are a great detective yet ya forget an exam!? Yer still a high school student in case ya forgot ya ahou!"

"Ahou! I was busy an' this heist was more important than an exam!"

"May I remind ya thar yer ta only one who's gonna take the exam because ya missed it already before, Ahou!"

Heiji blinked, extinguishing his anger. "…Ah, is that so?"

Kazuha facepalmed.

Their two visitors sweatdropped.

 _'Hattori's an idiot…'_ Conan laughed dryly. _'Although Ran and I are actually the ones skipping school.'_

Ran decided to take control of the situation and spoke up. "A-Ah, Hattori-kun? Don't worry about us. Conan-kun and I are getting familiar with the Osakan roads and I think we're going to be fine. And we have Otaki-keiji's number so we can call him to fetch us if we can't find the Umeda Sky Building. Right, Conan-kun?"

"Yes, Ran-neechan! So Heiji-niichan can go with Kazuha-neechan to school and take his _missed_ exam!" The pseudo-kid chirped, making sure that Hattori got his message.

 _'I told you, you can't win against childhood friends –slash- love interest."_

Heiji shot a heated glare at the _kid_ then turned to Ran.

"Sorry about that, Neechan. I was planning to take ya two to various food places here but well…" Heiji scratched his head in apology.

"Believe me, Heiji, I'll skip with ya today if ya only took ta damn exam ta last time! Yer always runnin' off whenever ya smell a case." Kazuha glared at her childhood friend for the last time before smiling at Ran and Conan's direction. "Sorry about that, Ran-chan, Conan-kun. I'd love to go with ya today but well, ya know. _Someone has to keep this ahou on a leash._ But let's meet after school! I'll call ya and we'll go to wherever ya are."

"Sure, Kazuha-chan!" Ran smiled.

"Oi what leash!?"

Heiji's protests were ignored. He sighed and turned to Ran.

"So Neechan, where do ya plan on going before ta heist?" Hattori inquired while fitting his shoes.

"Hmm, Conan-kun and I are planning to just stay here until lunch and probably walk around for a bit afterwards. So you don't have to worry at all, Hattori-kun!"

"I see, I see. Then we'll just see ya guys later. Call whenever ya need us, a'right?"

"Of course. Thanks, Hattori-kun."

Hattori proceeded to ruffle Conan's hair, who was displeased with the action. "Ya too, kid. Behave around yer Neechan, okay?"

"Okay, Heiji-niichan! Good luck on your _exam_." Conan fake cheered, intentionally ignoring the tick on Heiji's forehead. "Ran-neechan and I will be alright! So don't worry!"

"Awww, Conan-kun's so adorable!" Kazuha cooed. "So Heiji, dun be a bad example to the kid an' let's go a'ready before we got late!"

"Sheesh, okay, I'm comin'. Bye, Neechan! Bye Ku—erm Conan-kun!"

"Bye bye!"

* * *

As the two figures disappeared from a distance, Conan turned to Ran.

"See how bad he is at acting? He almost said my name again in public."

Ran giggled and fixed Conan's ruffled hair. "Well, Conan-kun, he's trying his best. Just remember the many times he saved your hide, okay?"

The boy just mumbled an _'of course I remember'_.

"So, what are we going to do now?" She asked.

Conan's glasses gleamed.

"Conan-kun, I have a feeling that you're going to do something ridiculously smart again." The girl nervously laughed.

The shrunken teen shot an innocent grin at Ran.

"Whatever are you saying, Ran-neechan?"

Ran heavily sighed and grabbed Conan's hand. "Geez, alright. Let's go so that you can do your thing already, Meitantei-san."

* * *

It was finally time.

After Heiji and Kazuha's class, they met up with Ran and Conan who was at a café near the Umeda Sky Building to grab some snacks before the heist. After that, they met up with Otaki-keiji who accompanied them to where Nakamori's troops were patrolling.

Nakamori stooped down to Conan's level and stared flatly at the kid. "So it's you again, huh?"

"H-Hello, Nakamori-keibu…" Conan laughed nervously.

"I don't know what KID's business with Shinichi Kudo is but if you kids ruin my plans to capture him, then you're going out!" Nakamori stomped away after pinching the newcomers' faces for obvious purposes.

Ran and Kazuha rubbed their faces to soothe the sting from the officer's pinch. "He didn't have to pinch that hard…"

"Nakamori-keibu's always like that so we're already used to it." Ran explained.

"I wonder if KID's going to have his way today. Especially when the _KID Killer_ and the _Great High School Detective of the West_ are here to witness the heist." Otaki-keiji mused. "Whatever the results will be, I'm sure it will definitely going to be interesting. But of course, I'm siding with the police."

Conan, Ran and Heiji froze when they heard an awfully familiar voice pipe up from Otaki's back.

"I would agree with you, Otaki-keiji. It would be very interesting, indeed."

Hattori was gaping.

"K-K…"

Ran was gripping Conan's hand hard that the boy was feeling the girl's shock at the newcomer. Conan inwardly cursed and squeezed Ran's hand back to try and soothe her.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _" **…Shinichi?** "_

"Yo, Ran."

The newcomer turned out to be the supposedly absent Great High School Detective of the East, _Kudo Shinichi_.

* * *

 **Also just a warning, KID doesn't know about Conan's true identity in this fic. And yes, that's KID disguised as Shinichi. Obviously.**

 **And sorry about the cliffhanger. /dodges pots and pans**

 **So yes, I was late again haha! But it's a week late so the same as chap 4! Probably you guys are going to be like, "We waited ages for this chapter just to have a cliffhanger? How dare-" Sorry about that. That was the best part to cut the chapter.**

 **Finished some commissions (Yes I draw. I think i'm better doing that than writing lmao) and did things to prepare for my mom's surprise birthday celebration. It's hard to keep things from her, damn it! I even sleep with the utensils that I bought bec I put it near my pillows hahaha!**

 **So yeah, people told me that they read my ANs and now I feel kinda embarrassed because you can deduce from my ramblings here that my thoughts are so unorganized. I deeply apologize for that haha.**

 **I'm starting to think that this fanfic is blazing down to ashes but well, I'll still do my best to finish this while swallowing my pride haha.**

 **As usual, thanks for reading :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note:** _Shinichi_ = KID in disguise

* * *

Aoko Nakamori stomped towards her childhood friend's desk and slammed the newspaper down in front of him. Kaito Kuroba, who was busy browsing his tablet for the latest news, looked at the irritated girl and raised his brow.

"What's up, Aoko?"

The girl grumbled some unintelligible phrases before answering, "That dumb thief has a goddamn heist in Osaka!"

Kaito set his tablet down and leaned towards Aoko. "Who?"

"Kaitou KID! He just announced that he's going to steal some jewel in Osaka and now Aoko's dad will be going to Osaka leaving Aoko alone…"

 _'Aoko…'_ Kaito frowned. "Why didn't you ask to go with him?"

Aoko stared flatly at Kaito. "Stupid, we have school!"

"So?"

"Aoko's not like you, Bakaito. Aoko doesn't skip school just for that. Hmph, his heist is full of stupid fangirls anyway so maybe it's better for Aoko to not go there. Aoko just wanted to cheer on Aoko's father because that stupid KID always humiliates him." Aoko pouted. "And Aoko still doesn't see any reason why you should idolize him, Kaito."

The magician grinned while ruffling the girl's hair. "Heh, a little girl like you won't understand my— _wait._ Did you say that _**Kaitou** **KID**_ will have a heist in Osaka?"

Aoko, ignoring her best friend's defilement of her hair, stared incredulously at her best friend. "Kaito, did you hit your head on something? That's what Aoko said the first time Aoko talked to you!"

Kaito almost dropped his jaw on the floor but luckily, he immediately plastered his pokerface and grinned at Aoko.

"Nah, I was just testing you. Also Aoko—"

And in a blink of an eye, Kaito was able to flip Aoko's skirt so that her underwear was exposed to the world.

"—are you trying to be sexy? What lacy underwear you have in there, my dear! And oooooh, it's black! So is this your way to rebel against KID?" Kaito finished with a wolfish grin.

Aoko's face flushed in embarrassment while she fumbled on her skirt in an effort to salvage her decency. Or what was left of it. In a few moments, her embarrassment turned into rage as she brandished her trusty mop out of nowhere and started their typical chase around the room.

"KAITOOOOO!"

"And it begins…" Keiko shook her head along with the whole class and tried to continue with the lesson, ignoring their bickering _married couple_.

It was just another typical day at Ekoda High School Class 2-B.

* * *

School finally ended and after getting away unscathed from Aoko's mop, Kaito rushed home to meet Jii on Blue Parrot.

 _(He never forgot to leave a red rose on her hair though_ _as an apology for not walking her home.)_

Setting his school bag on the bar counter, Kaito sat down on one of the stools and said, "Jii-chan, have you heard the news?"

Jii nodded grimly while he wiped one of his wine glasses clean. "Yes, Bocchama. According to the heist notice, the _fake KID_ is going to get the Unnamed Brown at Osaka on the next blue moon which is coincidentally, our next target. We were supposed to send a notice beforehand but…"

"Someone got onto it first, huh…" Kaito placed his chin on his palm while leaning on the counter.

"I don't have a good feeling about this, Bocchama."

"Me, too. But it's interesting, right?" Kaito grinned. "They even included Meitantei-san in the notice. I have a feeling that the instigator of this fake notice wants to lure someone…"

"Snake..?"

He shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know if we don't act upon it. If it was Snake, then he can come at me. I'll probably get the jewel anyway and if it is Pandora, then we both know what will happen. But if it's not, then let's leave it to the detectives roaming around the place to solve it. I'll try my best to lend my assistance by exposing that this heist was not started by KID but I'm not going to be deeply involved in that."

"Do you have a plan, Kaito-bocchama?"

"I always do, Jii-chan. I always do. But there's still a chance that it will fail so we need to have a back-up plan. We need to come up with all the possibilities of infiltration and exit in this heist. This diamond… is really large. There's a high possibility of it being a doublet to encase another jewel inside it. If it really is Pandora then, KID's mission will be done soon. And then we'll…" Kaito clenched his fists.

"Bocchama…"

"So to that person who sent the notice, I want to thank them for making things very interesting." Kaito cracked his knuckles after stretching his arms. "I've read on the news that no one was able to reach Kudo Shinichi so they decided to invite the _brat_ instead since they're connected to Kudo anyway. I'm still not sure about that so can you confirm it for me please, Jii-chan? I need to be a hundred percent sure that he's not going to attend or else I'll need to construct another plan."

"Sure thing, Kaito-bocchama. I'll also prepare your things while you study the blueprints of Umeda Sky Building that I have recently acquired. I've already booked our flights so no worries about our transport to Osaka."

Kaito smiled at the old man then bowed. "You're reliable as always, Jii-chan. Thank you for everything."

The elderly assistant tapped the young magician's shoulders to make him stand normally. "No need for thanks, Bocchama. Toichi-sama would be so proud in heaven, I'm sure." Jii smiled sadly.

Kaito was silent for a few moments. "I hope so, Jii-chan. I hope… that this is it. That I could finally bring him to justice very soon. I really, really hope so."

* * *

After Jii confirmed that Kudo Shinichi will not be able to attend the heist, Kaito quickly set his plans in motion. After all, what's a more perfect disguise to use than the one who is about to be lured?

But before leaving Ekoda, he called Aoko to tell her his _alibi_ — that his mom suddenly wanted him to accompany her to somewhere so he isn't able to attend school for a few days. He knew he heard a tinge of sadness in the girl's voice but Aoko stood strong and decided to have a sleepover with Keiko while her dad was away. Kaito, feeling a bit sorry for the girl _because it was basically his fault that her father was always absent_ , told her that he'll buy her gifts when he comes home. He smiled when he heard the girl's cheers followed by a lecture on using magic to prank other people.

 _"Be good, Kaito! Don't trouble your mother too much okay? And don't pull some pranks on innocent people! Aoko will hit you with a mop if you did. Aoko will ask your mom, don't think that Aoko won't! You better listen to Aoko, okay?_

 _…and take care, Kaito. Aoko will be waiting for you."_

Kaito shook his head while he recalled the silly girl's reminders. He really doesn't need to remember how smooth and pleasing to the ear her voice has been when she told him that she'll be waiting for him. It will just make him feel weird. And feeling weird isn't good when he's infiltrating. He'll find a way make it up to her when he comes back but for now, he has to bury it deep inside his head to fully internalize his disguise. After all, the crowd that he was aiming to infiltrate was already on sight.

The Great Detective of the West, his girlfriend, Ran Mouri and Tantei-kun accompanied by a police officer named Otaki were gathered around the center. While he quietly approached, he listened in to the conversation that the group was having.

* * *

"I wonder if KID's going to have his way today— especially when the _KID Killer_ and the _Great High School Detective of the West_ are here to witness the heist." Otaki-keiji mused. "Whatever the results will be, I'm sure it will definitely going to be interesting. But of course, I'm siding with the police."

And at that moment, KID decided that it was the perfect time to announce his presence to his _acquaintances_.

"I would agree with you, Otaki-keiji. It would be very interesting, indeed." He hid a smirk when he observed the amusing reactions that he got in his arrival. _'Look at their faces, it seemed like they have seen a ghost.'_

"K-K…"

"Shinichi?"

"Yo Ran." Kaitou KID, disguised as Shinichi Kudo, sheepishly smiled and waved his hand in greeting. "Sorry for the unannounced arrival. I didn't think that the case I was working on will be done early but since it did, I caught on the earliest flight that I could have so here I am."

Kaito noticed that Hattori was still gaping and Ran… he shivered at the look on her face.

 _'Why does she look very… intimidating? Not that I'm affected but I'm guessing that Meitantei-san owes her something. But what did Meitantei-san did to her? Maybe he screwed up— Oh crap, she's coming!'_

* * *

Ran squeezed Conan's hand for the last time and let it go. The boy looked at her in worry but she just smiled and silently reassured him that everything's under control.

Ran approached _Shinichi_ and gently patted his arm. "I didn't think that you'll be able to come. You just literally messaged me a few minutes ago so this was surprising." She waved her phone in front of _Shinichi_ to prove her point. "But setting that aside, can we talk for a bit?"

 _Shinichi_ raised his eyebrow but nodded anyway. "Sure, there's still some time before the heist begins so let's walk around for a bit?"

"Oi—!" Heiji tried to protest but Kazuha prevented him from doing so.

"Ahou! This is their long-awaited meetin' so dun interfere!"

"But Kudo—"

"Ran-neechan will be fine, Heiji-niichan! After all, it's Shinichi-niichan who's with her, right?" Conan beamed at _Shinichi_. "So no doubt, she'll be safe with him!"

The kid might be smiling brightly at the newcomer but his eyes were telling something else.

 _'I dare you to touch her even a single millimeter and I'll be sending some soccer balls your way.'_

"Of course, I won't hurt Ran, geez…" _Shinichi_ stared flatly at Hattori, who replied with a glare. He inwardly smirked. _'So Tantei-kun and figured it out, eh?'_

"Oh Shinichi before we go…" Ran pinched _Shinichi's_ cheeks hard.

"Ow! What are you doing, Ran!?"

"Eh, just checking if you're really Shinichi. Since this is a KID heist, we need to be careful about disguises, right?" Ran smiled. "We'll be back in a bit, Otaki-keiji, Hattori-kun, Kazuha-chan. Please take care of Conan-kun for a while, okay?"

Kazuha spoke while sealing Heiji's mouth with her hand. "Sure, Ran-chan!"

"See you later, Ran-neechan!" Conan cheered but he couldn't help but wonder what Ran was planning. He is sure that Ran can take care of herself and KID won't do something outrageous to her but… there's something else that's bugging him.

 _'Could it be that Ran will…'_ Conan rubbed his chin in thought. _'If that is so then… I pity the poor thief.'_

Finally breaking free from Kazuha's grip, Heiji went to Conan's side and harshly whispered. "Oi Kudo! That's definitely KID! Why did ya let Neechan go?"

The boy sighed. "I do not keep a leash on her so she can do whatever she wanted to do, Hattori. And don't worry, he'll never touch Ran. I've already given him a warning and he's smart enough to obey it."

 _'Besides, it gives me a bit of a comfort that Ran already knows who she's dealing with. So it will be fine._

 _…hopefully.'_

* * *

Ran and _Shinichi_ decided to go into a slightly secluded part of the sky garden. The girl leaned on the railings, letting her long brown hair dance freely with the cold summer wind.

 _Shinichi_ , who was already calculating on how the conversation will go, stopped a few steps behind her.

After moments of silence, the girl suddenly spoke up.

"Ne, Shinichi."

"Yes, Ran?"

Ran turned slightly towards _Shinichi_ and tucked her hair in the ear. "Thank you again for giving me this pair of earrings. They're beautiful."

 _Shinichi_ tried to shake away the familiar images of a certain mop-wielding childhood friend in his head when he saw that scene but failed due to the uncanny resemblance of the two. He swallowed and turned away from the smiling woman. "Of course. I gave it to you so you better treasure it."

"Of course. I was shocked when you suddenly threw a box at me saying that it's something to make up for the lost times. Stupid, Shinichi _._ " Ran pouted. "Though it's better than you kicking it…"

"Ba'rou. I didn't throw it! I tossed it to you and I knew that you will be able to catch it because you have quick reflexes." _Shinichi_ reasoned.

"Ah, I see." Ran had a small smile on her lips before she turned her attention to the sky again. "So I was wondering, do you have any idea why you were invited in this heist?"

 _'Hmm, so this was what she wanted to talk about?'_

 _Shinichi_ dug his hands in his pockets and looked up to the sky. "To be honest, I don't know. Maybe he wanted a repeat performance of last time at the clock tower? Either way, I'll be able to predict his moves and drive that thief into a corner."

 _'As if.'_

The girl pressed on. "So care to share your plans with me? Oh don't look at me like that, I've known you well enough to know that you already have at least one in mind."

 _Shinichi_ chortled. "Fine, fine. I've already studied the blueprints of this building and came up with ways on how KID will enter or exit the building. There's a high chance that he'll escape from here, since the winds are favorable for gliding tonight. Of course, Nakamori-keibu will still be in-charge of the catching and I will just provide additional help on the sidelines."

"But Shinichi, do you really believe that it was KID who sent the notice?"

 _'Wow, having an insight like that is… She asks interesting questions, eh?'_ KID mused.

Ran continued. "To be honest, I doubt it. Because I'm just an average person and that notice was way too easy for me to decipher. KID usually put riddles in his notices, right? So I'm not sure but… maybe someone out there wants to lure you, Shinichi." Ran nervously laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. You were keeping a low profile recently for a case and now KID suddenly pops up this stint and I thought that it was going to ruin your cover…"

 _'She really cares for that Meitantei, eh? He's really a lucky guy. Too bad, it's not him she's talking to.'_

 _Shinichi_ gave Ran a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Ran. Thank you for worrying. You're right, we cannot dismiss the possibility that it was not KID who sent the notice. It was too unrefined, to be honest. Even for that thief, he still maintains an air of class and refinery in his heists. I've noticed in some of his previous heists that there were intruders who were persistent in targeting KID. Nakamori-keibu doesn't use those barbaric means of catching KID so they're definitely not from the police force but these unknown people seem dangerous. Nobody knows what their motives are but it's definitely not good. But if those people were the ones responsible for the notice, then why invite me?" _Shinichi_ furrowed his eyebrows.

 _'I have a feeling that Meitantei-san's scarce attendance recently was due to something else… Could it be that we have similar enemies? After all, Mouri-san mentioned about him keeping a low profile and about a cover…'_

Ran was quiet after he spoke. It sort of unnerved him because he really didn't know the girl personally so he couldn't guess what the silence was for. He might have disguised as her at the Black Star heist but women are unpredictable. Why did this girl pull him away from her friends when they can openly discuss this with them?

Moments later, Ran finally spoke.

"Thanks for telling me, _Shinichi."_

And suddenly, Kaito didn't like the tone of voice that Ran used in pronouncing Meitantei-san's name.

Ran pushed away from the railings and faced _Shinichi._ She walked a few steps towards the boy until she's a foot away from him. She looked into his eyes and smiled.

Then pinched him hard on both cheeks.

"Ran!?" _Shinichi_ exclaimed while nursing his sore cheeks.

"Hmm." Ran contemplated. "So you really do look like Shinichi, eh? Maybe the hairstyle's just different because I've noticed that your hair's more stiff than usual. I can smell the scent of hair wax on you, see? And I'm not sure but I think I've already seen someone like you before…"

"W-What are you saying, Ran? Of course I will look like him because I am Shinichi! Ba'rou, did you hit your head or something?" _Shinichi_ placed a hand on Ran's forehead but the girl shook his hand away.

"And I'm not sure if that's your real voice but if it is, wow! It's like you're long lost twins or something. Clones, maybe?"

 _Shinichi_ 's eyebrow twitched. "This is ridiculous, Ran."

Ran wagged her finger in front of _Shinichi_ 's face. " _When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth._ That's what you taught me, right?"

"…right."

"You lied about the earring."

 _Shinichi_ froze.

"Well, I'm not blaming you if you didn't know. Shinichi gave it to me but it was Conan-kun who delivered the jewelry to my hands. In secret. So it's impossible for you to 'toss' the box to me. And Shinichi is not one to forget about the smaller details, mind you. He's a detective and it just happens that he has an eidetic memory, which makes it hard for him to not remember things. _Especially when it's a promise about his return to me._ " At the end of her speech, looked sternly at _Shinichi._ "And Shinichi was right. It was not you who sent the notice but someone else. And we think that the sender is either after Shinichi or..."

 _Shinichi—_ Kaitou KID knew that resistance was futile. He wasn't prepared for this confrontation after all. Instead of digging a deeper grave, he dropped his act and smiled at Ran. "Ojou-san, you should have been a detective for your brilliant deduction."

Ran stepped back, sensing the man's resignation and waved her hand in dismissal. "One detective is enough in our relationship. Oh also, Shinichi called me moments before you arrived so that's why I knew you weren't him."

 _'Though that was a lie and he was actually shooting lasers towards your way earlier.'_ Ran thought.

KID barked a laugh at Ran's humor. "You are a very interesting person, my lady. So what is the true purpose of this conversation, hm? I suppose you have another topic in mind then?"

Ran laughed. "That's right, KID-san. Aside from asking you about your view on the heist, I also seek something from you. It is a personal request."

The magician raised his eyebrow. "Mademoiselle, the only thing I stole from you is the face of your lover, which I will return when the night's over. And I don't work for other people so I deeply apologize if your request will be denied."

"Yes, I appreciate that and I also understand where you're coming from but KID-san…" A sweet smile appeared on the maiden's face. "You're basically showing me your civilian face right now. I am a girl so I know if someone is wearing make up or prosthetics." Ran tapped her chin in thought. "As I've told you earlier, I vaguely remember crossing paths with someone whom I thought as Shinichi before. I tried to chase him so that I could deck him for spending another time with a girl while I was waiting for his return but I was mistaken and the person that day was probably you. I am friends with the heiress of Suzuki empire and I can ask her for help in finding you based on the CCTV coverage of that area on that specific day. Or I can just ask the police. Which do you prefer, _Magician under the Moonlight-san_?"

Kaito almost fell on the floor with that statement. _'This young lady is exceptionally dangerous! Meitantei-san has been subconsciously nurturing a deadly weapon by his side!'_

Ran shrugged when she was met with silence. "Growing up with detectives, a lawyer, a mystery novelist, and an internationally renowned actress has its perks, you know?"

KID sighed in resignation. Again. ' _This lady is impossible. How can that Meitantei handle her?'_

* * *

From a distance, Conan suddenly sneezed.

"Oh no, Conan-kun, are ya okay?" Kazuha fussed.

"I'm okay, Kazuha-neechan! It felt kinda chilly for a bit there but I'm fine!" The boy reassured the taller girl.

"If ya say so. Ran-chan will worry if I didn't take care of ya. So tell me if somethin' went wrong, eh?"

"Okay!" Conan chirped.

 _'Someone must be talking about me. Not that surprising since I'm invited in this heist but… come on.'_

Conan sneezed again.

 _'Seriously?'_

* * *

"So what is your request then?"

Ran beamed and shook the thief's hands in gratitude. "Thank you, KID-san! But first, you must promise me not to tell this to anyone, okay? Yes, even Shinichi. This is a conversation between you and I only so everything that will be discussed here will never come out in the open— at least until the task is over. So will you hear my request?"

KID released an exasperated sigh. "What can I do, Mouri-san? You've basically trapped me in my own domain. If I resist, you'll just throw me off the deck with your karate. I could fly but I doubt you'll spare me from having some broken bones during that and I can't have that before the heist even started. Also, I brought sleeping gas with me but it's very… flashy so people will notice. So it's a deal. But make it quick, the heist will start soon."

"Thank you again, KID-san! I'm sure you'll be interested in what I'm going to say." Ran smiled.

KID laughed. "I'm sure it is, Mouri-san. Truly."

* * *

Ran never thought, not even once, that she could _unmask_ a certain phantom thief in her lifetime. No, she didn't even desire to do that in the first place but her concern for a certain shrunken detective drove her to gather all her wits and go all out on the elusive criminal to ensure his safety.

The girl didn't know if what she have discussed with KID would be useful but she just hoped that someday, this small deal will somehow be of help even for a bit.

After their talk, KID suggested that he'll put her to sleep and then remove his current disguise in public to announce to the world that the Kudo Shinichi who contacted the police and the person who suddenly showed up in the heist was just KID in disguise. Ran agreed because she knew that this will somehow erase the suspicions of the people who were after the Great High School Detective of the East, _if_ they were really after Shinichi.

"I apologize Mouri-san for what I'm about to do."

"It's okay KID-san. I am the one who should apologize. I truly didn't want to unmask you but love makes us do weird things, ne?" Ran chuckled, trying to hide her embarrassment. "So thank you again, for hearing me out, KID-san. After this, just… bring me to Conan-kun, okay?" KID noticed the hint of affection in her voice when she uttered the mini-detective's name.

 _'They're really close, eh? I'm guessing that he'll throw something at me because I sort of broke his warnings but well, I have something more important to uphold and I can just avoid his 'punishment'. No biggie. I hope.'_

"Okay Mouri-san. Ready?" KID readied his smoke bomb and waited for the girl's approval to strike.

"Okay. But before that, please call me Ran-san, okay? Mouri-san is my dad so…"

KID chuckled. "No problem, Ran-san. On the count of three, I'll drop the bomb. Don't worry, I'll catch you."

 _'Well if I didn't, two hounds will definitely come after me.'_

Ran smiled then nodded. KID pulled the sleeping gas bomb out of nowhere and raised his hand. His other hand pulled out a gas mask and placed it on his face.

"One."

Ran closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Two."

KID checked his surroundings for the last time and started to lower his hand, its momentum increasing as the time ticked.

"Three."

He dropped the bomb and stayed behind Ran to catch her falling body from colliding with the floor. He hoisted the unconscious girl up and walked towards the direction of Tantei-kun's group.

He wasn't that surprised to see that Conan was already sprinting towards them. He could also see the spark of anger in the kid's eyes and he knew that he was going to make him pay for what he did to his Ran-neechan. But he had an oath to fulfill and he's not going to stop until the little lady gets what she wants.

KID stopped walking and smirked at the obviously tensed miniature detective. The _child_ was already aiming his watch at him but he knew that the thing will not fire until he sets the princess down.

"Hello, Tantei-kun." He greeted with much enthusiasm.

"KID." Conan deadpanned.

"I apologize for the mishap. I accidentally dropped my smoke bomb once this little lady figured out who I was so this happened. Don't worry, she is unharmed." KID gently placed Ran down on the floor and stepped back.

"So you chickened out because you knew that she's definitely going to kick your ass, right?"

"Oh Tantei-kun, please. Don't use such an unrefined word in referring to me. Ran-san had more taste in choosing her statements than you, you know?"

Conan clicked his tongue and carefully approached the unconscious girl, checking for her vital signs. His eyes softened once he confirmed the girl's state from her light breathing. "Ran…"

"I assure you Tantei-kun, she will be conscious in no time. But for now, I will…" KID smirked once again and dropped a smoke bomb which made Conan's vision blurry. "…take my leave and start my show to satisfy my ever loyal audience."

The faux boy kicked a soccer ball towards KID but when the smoke cleared, the ball was met by nothing.

 _'Shit, he got away again!'_

"See you later, Tantei-kun!"

Conan cursed. KID crossed a lot of lines today and he was not amused. Did he really have to make Ran sleep—

 _'Wait… did he just say that he dropped the gas because… Ran discovered his identity!?'_

Conan's jaw dropped but immediately recovered to rouse his childhood friend from her forced slumber.

"Ran! Ran! Come on…"

The girl just grumbled and went back to sleep.

"Oi, oi." Conan dryly laughed and turned his attention towards his Osakan friend. "Hattori!"

"On it!" The Osakan high school detective rushed to where the jewel was placed, just a hundred meters away from their current location. Kazuha hurriedly walked to Ran's side instead of following Heiji and assured the boy that she'll take care of his caretaker while he take care of his business. Dropping a kiss on Ran's forehead then softly praised her for a job well done, Conan dashed after Heiji and stopped when they heard a familiar arrogant voice booming on the deck's sound system.

 **"Ladies and gentlemen!"**

.

.

.

.

.

Conan just hoped that the weird sensation in his chest that was bugging him ever since the night started is not some kind of a bad premonition.

* * *

Ran woke up feeling like she had the worst hangover ever. She's definitely going to deck KID next time for making his sleeping gas that potent.

Trying to find her ground, she found herself in Kazuha's arms— who was currently sporting a face filled with horror and shock.

"Kazuha…chan?"

Ran patted her shoulder but Kazuha did not move. She called her friend once more but it proved to be futile so she followed the girl's gaze to find out what was making her freeze.

And then Ran suddenly understood.

Surrounded by a sea of unconscious police officers, stood KID. Her heart leapt on her chest when she did not immediately find Shinichi. She hurriedly searched for the shrunken teen and felt immediate relief when she found him standing meters away from the thief. KID, whose face was still as blank as ever, was holding his card gun towards the men in black, specifically to the one who was holding an unconscious beaten up girl who resembled like…

"Me…?" Ran was shocked at the resemblance of the girl to her own self. It was so uncanny that the only difference was the messy hair and some curves here and there. She felt chills creeping up her spine as she noticed the girl's poor state.

"R-Ran-chan…"

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran sat up immediately and hugged the shocked girl. "Kazuha-chan, are you alright?" She whispered.

"Heiji…"

Ran's eyes widened. Her eyes went back to the horrible scene and found Hattori unconscious behind Conan. "Oh no, Hattori-kun… What happened, Kazuha-chan?"

Luckily, the two girls were behind a giant pillar so their location was blocked from view. Kazuha kept her voice low as possible as she relayed the course of events to Ran.

"Conan-kun left ya in my care an' they went near KID. It was a typical heist, KID was taunting the police and Nakamori-han was shouting. KID released a kind of sleeping gas in order to make everyone asleep but luckily, Conan-kun an' Heiji brought some masks. But the ahou gave me 'is so that's why I'm still awake now. An' look where it got 'im now!" Kazuha wiped her tears hastily.

"Anyway, KID announced that he already got the jewel an' he was about to flee when suddenly… there was a gunshot. It hit KID but I think he was wearin' a bulletproof vest because I didn't see any blood. Then some people wearin' black clothes appeared and oh god…" Kazuha suppressed a sob. "I thought it was ya, Ran-chan. But it was impossible since I had ya in my arms. They brought the girl in and fer a moment, I saw KID losin' his composure. The man who was holdin' the girl was pointin' a gun on her temple an'… an' demanded that KID give the jewel to them. An' that's when ya woke up Ran-chan…"

"I see…"

Ran rubbed Kazuha's back to soothe the crying girl. "It's okay, Kazuha-chan. Thank you for telling me. And I believe that Hattori-kun is safe since he was only knocked out by the sleeping gas. He'll probably wake up around the same time as I did and for sure, he'll be staying low until he finds an opportunity to strike. So for now let's keep a low profile so that we won't get noticed, too."

Kazuha took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, Ran-chan. Sorry about freezing like that. I'm fine now."

Ran flashed a reassuring smile towards her Osakan friend. "All we can do is hope for the best Kazuha-chan. For now. We can ambush them but…"

"I know. It's hard to quietly approach them especially when they have a hostage. One mistake and that poor girl will…"

"Let's have faith in them. And pray that we get an opening so that we'll catch the enemies off guard. But for now, we have to stay alert and observe."

"I agree, Ran-chan." Kazuha grasped Ran's hand, seeking for comfort. "I believe in Heiji."

Ran squeezed her hand in return. "I also believe in them."

 _'Be safe, all of you. Be safe.'_

* * *

Ran was blazing with fury. She felt— no she knew that girl. She was the one who was with KID on that rainy day. And with the way KID's hands were slightly trembling, it confirmed her suspicion that the girl _is_ a very important person in his life. Under his flawless mask, Ran knew that KID was completely terrified when he saw the poor girl's state.

These men in black... was KID also suffering the same thing as Shinichi? Finding an elusive organization in order to hunt them down?

She couldn't contact Shinichi to ask him if those men in black were the very same enemies that he's searching for but she knew one thing and it wasn't good.

The night will not end smoothly and there's a high chance that nobody will walk away unscathed.

* * *

 **Hello! Wow I updated earlier than usual! Well, still longer than a week but hey, 10 days! just 3 days longer than a week haha!**

 **And I'm going to take this opportunity to thank the reviewers for leaving me nice things for this fic. Thank you for the continued support!**

 **(Even though this fic is a total mess hahahaha)**

 **I'm still not sure how this heist will end but it'll come to me when I write ch7 ;;;**

 **Sorry I did that to Aokooooooo, I didn't really intend to add that when I was planning the chapter and when I was writing it, BOOM. AOKO. HUHUHU. MY BABY. Don't worry, she'll live.**

 **Until next time! ;D**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Long chapter ahead.**

* * *

After Kaito performed his magic trick on Aoko, he dashed outside the classroom, leaving a fuming Aoko behind.

"Geez, that Bakaito! He's dead wrong if giving Aoko pretty roses and decorating it on Aoko's hair would stop Aoko from hitting him with a mop!" Aoko ranted.

"Calm down, Aoko-chan. You know how rowdy he is. Maybe something suddenly came up that's why he left in a hurry." Keiko tried to quell her friend's frustration by rubbing smooth circles on her back. "But whatever his excuse is, don't worry because I'm still here."

Since Kaito ditched from his cleaning duties leaving her friend alone, Keiko volunteered to help poor Aoko in today's job. She admits that the two's shenanigans always bring amusement to the whole class. Of course herself included. She's convinced that fighting was their way of releasing some of their sexual tension.

 _'But why did our teacher even pair the two up? The faculty knows how unproductive these two get when they're together and yet, here we are... But if I were to guess, I'm pretty sure it's Kuroba-kun's fault.'_ Keiko sweatdropped _._ _'Yup, he would totally do that.'_

Aoko sighed, letting go of her anger. "Aoko knows. It's just… he promised Aoko that he would walk Aoko home today because he'll help Aoko with the groceries and all…"

Keiko smiled. "Don't worry, Aoko-chan! I'll help you in his place!"

Aoko's eyes gleamed with the prospect of her friend helping her. She can't carry everything on her own, right? "Really, Keiko-chan?"

The bespectacled girl nodded. "Yep! Who needs him anyway?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "And if you don't mind, I'll get Kuroba-kun's share of dinner as compensation, alright?"

Aoko giggled. "Thank you, Keiko-chan. Aoko's very grateful to you. Bakaito will regret what he did today! I should probably prepare some fish for him later..." She pumped her fists enthusiastically and grinned. "Father is in Osaka right now for that dumb KID heist so we'll have the house to ourselves!"

Keiko cheered. "That's my girl! Now, let's finish this so we can immediately prepare for dinner."

Aoko saluted in reply. Then she grabbed her trusty mop and started wiping the floor clean. On the other hand, Keiko grabbed the board eraser and started dusting it outside the window after she cleaned the board itself. They were able to finish in less than an hour and the two girls merrily skipped their way towards the grocery.

* * *

After dinner, Keiko volunteered to wash the dishes since Aoko cooked all of their food. Aoko thanked her friend and proceeded to wipe the table clean instead. She suddenly jumped in place when her mobile phone rang in her pocket. Trying to calm her racing heart due to being startled at the sudden phone call, she informed Keiko that she was going to take a call and went to the backyard.

She checked the caller ID before answering.

It was Kaito.

 _"Hello, Aoko?"_

"Eh? Kaito?"

 _"Uh, yeah. Didn't you read the caller ID?"_

"Aoko didn't. Aoko was busy." She lied.

 _"Distracted as usual."_

"Baka! So, after ditching Aoko, you're calling Aoko now? What nerve." The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance.

 _"Hey, I left you a rose as an apology! Geez, Ahouko. Better pay attention next time."_ Aoko heard some rustling at the other end of the line, probably due to Kaito's movements. Probably shifted the phone to his other hand.

"Shut up, Bakaito. Bribing Aoko with a rose… and you didn't say anything."

 _"I did."_

"Did not. You just poof-ed your way out."

Her best friend chortled. _"Poof-ed? Really, Aoko? And yes, I did."_

Red slowly bloomed on her cheeks. "Did not!"

"I diiiiiid!"

" Did not— geez, whatever Kaito. Why did you call Aoko?"

Kaito cleared his throat. _"Uhhh… I just wanted to tell you that my mom… err, suddenly wanted me to tag along with her trip. Saying that the exposure will help me as a magician in the future so… uhm, please tell our teacher?"_

"Ah."

 _"Sorry that I'm missing dinner."_

"…"

 _"… And sorry for leaving you alone? I'll do the grocery duty next time, okay?"_

Aoko smiled. She knew in her heart that she couldn't bear being angry with him for too long. Besides, the rose trick always melts her heart. It's her favorite trick of all time since it meant a lot to her. "Idiot. It can't be helped since your Mom was the one who put you up in this. Don't worry, Aoko got Keiko-chan with her."

 _"Ah, did she accompany you home?"_

"Hmmhm. She also helped me clean in your place so you better make it up to her. After you make it up to Aoko, of course." Aoko giggled. "And oh, we ate your portion of our dinner. It was good."

 _"Sure, sure, no problem. Please tell Keiko-chan my apologies. And heh, who would eat your cooking anyway?"_

Aoko pouted. "May Aoko remind you that you always eat at our house? You ungrateful jerk."

 _"Psh small details, small details. Anyway, sorry again about suddenly… you know. I know you don't like to be left alone so uh… at least you got Keiko-chan with you?"_

"Hmhmm. Aoko told you to not worry about it, Bakaito."

 _"Geez, here I'm apologizing and then you're just dismissing me. Mean Aoko."_

Aoko rolled her eyes at Kaito's childishness. "Whatever Kaito. Aoko means it. And… thanks for worrying about Aoko."

 _"…Nah, no biggie. Do you want me to bring you gifts when I get home?"_

She suddenly perked up on that. "Ooooh! Really, Kaito? You would do that?"

 _"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just answer before I change my mind."_

"Of course Aoko would love to! Bring a lot, okay!? You owe me a lot. Then Aoko will give some to Keiko-chan. Wait, you didn't even tell Aoko where you're going."

 _"Yes, yes. Duly noted, my fair maiden."_ Aoko detected the mild sarcasm in his voice but ignored it since it was harmless anyway. " _Also I didn't tell you where I was going because I also have no idea on our destination. Mom said that it was a surprise. Geez that old woman really is impulsive. I'm a high school student, you know? I need to be in class and all that stuff."_

Aoko rolled her eyes with that. _'Not that you're already missing classes on your own anyway.'_

"Be good, Kaito! Don't trouble your mother too much okay? And don't pull some pranks on innocent people! Aoko will hit you with a mop if you did. Aoko will ask your mom, don't think that Aoko won't! You better listen to Aoko, okay?"

 _"Yes, yes mother. Geez, who's even at my side? No one. Poor Kaito's always driven into a corner by mean women. This is so unfair. I need a refund."_

"Be serious!"

 _"I am."_

"If you are then why is Aoko doubting you?"

 _"Hey, maybe I'll change my mind about the gifts. I have a feeling that you don't want it anymore so…"_

"Aoko dares you, Bakaito. Aoko already agreed to it so no take backs! Or else, Aoko will welcome you warmly with a mop when you return."

 _"As if you don't welcome me enough, Ahouko."_

"Maybe I'll throw in some fish, too."

 _"H-Have mercy, Aoko-san..."_

Aoko rolled her eyes for the nth time. "Why does Aoko even have a best friend like you?"

 _"Because I'm irresistible."_

"Tone down the ego, mister. Might break the skies with that height."

 _"Heh. Consider yourself lucky that I am your best friend. People are dying to have a piece of me, you know? And yet here you are, having easy access to this fine piece of art."_

Aoko wanted to hit Kaito on the face, hoping that it would reduce the boy's arrogance. "Egoist."

 _"Heh. What is a magician without his ego?"_

Aoko sighed. "Whatever Kaito. Just go already and pack your stuff. You want some help?"

 _"Nah, I'm already at the station waiting for my mom. That was the reason I 'poof-ed' as you termed it. You know how Mom is. Again— Impulsive."_

"Geez, if you just explained in the beginning then Aoko didn't have to throw the mop at you."

Aoko could basically hear his arrogant smirk through the line. _"Ehhh, what's the fun in that?"_

"Geez, just remember what I said okay? Take care of your mom and no pranks!"

 _"Fine, fin—"_

"…and take care of yourself, Kaito. Aoko will be waiting for you." Her voice was soft, like she was sharing her deepest secret to Kaito. She tried hard to stop her blush from taking over her face and so far, she's convinced that she's succeeding. Lucky that this was a phone call or else she'll be busted in no time.

 _"…"_

"…"

 _"Okay, Aoko. I'll be back soon."_

"Hmmhm."

 _"Take care."_

Click.

Kaito's voice laced with genuine care and concern never failed to make Aoko feel so touched. It was one of those rare moments that they have a hushed exchange of words— even if today's at the end of the conversation. She clutched her phone on her chest and smiled at the moon, wishing that Kaito could see its beauty clearly wherever he is right now, too.

"Aoko-chan? I'm done with the dishes!"

Startled with the sudden call behind her, Aoko almost dropped her phone but thankfully recovered it before it got smashed on the ground. She then started to return inside the house, but not before taking one last glimpse of the moon.

 _'Be safe, Kaito.'_

"Aoko-chan?"

"Ah Keiko-chan! Sorry, Aoko's coming in!"

* * *

But not everything goes as planned.

An emergency has occurred at Keiko's house so she regretfully informed Aoko that she isn't able to stay the night since their rooms will be occupied by their sudden guests. Keiko can't stay at Aoko's house either because her mother asked for her help in accommodating the guests.

"I'm really sorry, Aoko-chan. Now I can't blame all of this to Kuroba-kun anymore…" Keiko frowned.

Aoko chuckled, waving her hand in dismissal. "Hey, it's alright Keiko-chan. Walking Aoko home and having dinner together is enough for Aoko. Aoko's just going to sleep after this anyway so it's alright."

Keiko gave her friend a hug. "Be careful, okay? You can call me when you feel lonely. Or you can bug Kuroba-kun in his trip!"

Aoko laughed then nodded. "Okay, Keiko-chan."

"Thanks for having me over, Aoko-chan. Dinner's great!"

"Let's do it again next time, okay?"

"Hmmhm!"

"Bye bye!"

"Bye bye!"

* * *

Aoko closed the door and heaved a sigh. "Geez, why now of all days? Aoko's lonely…" She dryly laughed. "Why is Aoko still not used to this? Aoko's always left alone to fend for herself, right?"

After a few minutes of silence, Aoko shook her head and pumped her fists, once somber eyes now filled with fiery determination. "But no problem! Aoko's a strong girl. Aoko can handle herself perfectly! Aoko's been taking care of two babies so it isn't really that lonely. Aoko will show them that Aoko can do—"

Knock, knock.

"Eh?" She peered through the peep hole and saw nothing. She decided to just ignore it until she heard a knock again. "Oh! Maybe Keiko-chan forgot something! I forgot that our peep hole was being faulty these days."

Aoko unlocked the door and smiled at her visitor. "Did you forget something, Keiko—"

Of all the things that her mind could imagine when welcoming a guest, a stranger shoving a chloroform-doused cloth on her nose and mouth sure isn't one.

She didn't recognize her attacker. She can't even glance at the culprit's face since he was strangling her from behind. Aoko tried her best to struggle against her attacker but was proved futile when she realized that the chloroform was already taking effect.

 _'Is this the end…? Otou-san…'_

Finally, she lost all the fight and her eyes rolled back but not before muttering a single word of plea.

"K-Kaito…"

And then it was all black.

* * *

.

.

.

 **"Ladies and Gentlemen!"**

A smooth voice boomed all over the Sky deck. A cloud of smoke enveloped the scene, making the policemen be on high alert. Just when the smoke cleared, Kaitou KID stood tall above the glass casing of the Golden Jubilee diamond.

"KID!" Nakamori-keibu bellowed.

"Good evening, Nakamori-keibu. How are you this fine evening?"

"Cut the bullshit, you thief. I swear I will catch you tonight!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. What a brave declaration that was, Nakamori-keibu. I wish you the best of luck from the bottom of my heart!" He grinned while bowing at his favorite police officer. "And oh, it's always very amusing to disguise as a detective, you know? It was convenient that Kudo Shinichi-san was not able to come, eh? I wonder how he's doing now since he's been off the radar for a while." KID touched his chin in thought. "I'm sure he will definitely make this heist more interesting if he was here, like the time at the clock tower. Remember that, Nakamori-keibu?"

"I have no time for your dilly-dallying, KID. You move and my men will grab you out of that podium."

KID ignored Nakamori's warning. "But no matter, Tantei-kun is here to liven up the things out here, right?"

Finally catching up to Hattori, Conan remained silent at KID's words. Although Heiji is another story.

"Hey! I'm still here, ya thief!"

KID faked a gasp. "Ah yes, Tantei-han from the West. How rude of me to forget. Nice to meet you."

"Kudo, is he really this infuriatin'?" Hattori hissed.

Conan laughed dryly. "Unfortunately, Hattori. Don't worry, you'll get used to it in the long run." He then shot a warning glance at his guilty friend. _'And mind the names for pete's sake.'_

 _'Whoops, sorry 'bout that.'_

"Dang. This is why I dun deal with thieves." Heiji scratched his head in annoyance.

KID sweatdropped at Conan and Heiji's conversation. He coughed to steal their attention— how cool is that, stealing their attention to watch him steal the jewel? Perfect.— and raised his hand.

"I apologize to cut our conversation short my dear detectives but I think you all need to…" KID dropped something from his hands and suddenly, he was equipped with a gas mask. "…visit dreamland for a little bit while I meet the star of the night."

"Hah! You think that we're going to be fooled by that?" Nakamori smirked then turned to his men. "Men! Use your masks, the gas will make you doze off!"

"Yes, keibu!"

The head of the KID task force plastered a smug grin on his face. "So what now, KID? Can't bring my men down?"

Thud.

One police officer was on the floor, sleeping. Followed by another, and another, and another…

KID raised his eyebrow. "Come again, keibu?"

"What..?" Nakamori's words died in his mouth as he felt dizziness coming to his system. "Why…?" He checked his mask, only to find out that there was a hole in the item.

KID laughed. "You're welcome, Nakamori-keibu! Sweet dreams!"

As if on cue, Nakamori's men dropped one by one and the only people left awake were Nakamori, Conan, Heiji and of course, KID himself.

Nakamori gritted his teeth in exasperation, thinking about how KID must have infiltrated the supplier of the police gas masks. A memory of a grinning boy with a cap flashed in his mind. _'Of course! He disguised as the delivery boy of the masks!'_

The police officer's body won't do anything that his brain commanded and he felt like he was slowly blacking out. He tried to fight the drowsiness but to no avail. "Damn it, KID…" And with a thud, Nakamori-keibu finally passed out on the floor, joining his taskforce in their slumber.

* * *

"I knew this was going to happen. Good thing we prepared our personal masks, right Hattori?" Conan turned towards Heiji's direction with sparkling eyes but immediately lost their shine when he saw his friend struggling to keep his consciousness.

"Sorry, Kudo… I kinda gave mine to Kazuha." Heiji dropped on the floor. "Sorry, I'll wake up soon… prolly…" Then he passed out.

Conan facepalmed but didn't blame Heiji. "This is why you should just tell her your feelings, you idiot. Did you forget that we had a spare one in the bag? And that the gas won't reach where they are?" He sighed and started walking towards KID who was preparing to tinker the jewel's glass casing.

"Oh well, this could work too."

* * *

After the sleeping gas has settled down, KID stepped down from the podium and started to remove the glass casing in order to free the jewel from its restraints. He had to give it to Nakamori-keibu, though. The glass casing had a lot of mechanisms for KID to mess with before he could even reach the main lock AND together with the lock, he has to crack the code that goes along with it before he can finally open the encasement. He paused his work when he felt a familiar presence behind him.

He glanced at his back then chuckled when he confirmed his guess about the identity of the approaching presence.

 _'Of course, he'll come prepared. Never underestimate Tantei-kun ever.'_ KID stared beyond Conan's back. _"Although Tantei-han seems down for the count.'_

Conan was already aiming his watch at the thief with eyes of a predator cornering his prey. He spoke, an octave lower than his usual kiddy voice. "So you were the one who sent the notice?"

KID shrugged. "Hmmm? Whatever are you saying, Tantei-kun? I am here, right?" He casually continued his work on the glass casing, ignoring the fact that Conan was just one click away from incapacitating him.

Conan, who realized that there was no point in holding the thief 'hostage', put his watch down and sighed. "Be serious, KID. You didn't think that I noticed the simplicity of your notice? Even a grade schooler can decipher it."

"May I remind you that you are different from ordinary grade schoolers, Tantei-kun?"

Conan stared flatly at his 'rival'. "Should I be flattered?"

"Oh yes, of course! Not many people have the privilege to have a one-on-one talk with me, you know? Oh yeah, Ran-san is one of those privileged people."

The faux child was ticked with the thief's mention of Ran's name but shoved down his irritation— at least for later—and just went straight to the point. "Since you keep dodging my question, I am going to assume that you didn't send the notice at all. This is quite similar to what happened to the Seiran painting, only that you have the intent to actually steal the item this time. And why would you even invite someone who has been missing-in-action for months now? What's the point?"

KID raised his eyebrow but not breaking his focus on his task. "Huh, so Meitantei-san is on a vacation, eh?"

"Of course, you're gonna comment on that first. Really?" Conan said dryly.

KID chuckled. "Well, I have my sources. And I used the information well."

 _'Used it well, huh?'_ Conan smirked. "So this heist is really not your doing?"

KID sighed. And with a final click, the glass casing of the jewel was finally unlocked and the thief grabbed the beauty in his glove-clad hands. "Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, yeah alright. But I don't know, KID. I just asked a simple question. If Ran-neechan was able to expose you, then you don't even want me to do that again, right?" Conan wasn't even trying to goad the answers out of KID anymore, the detective already confirmed that he wasn't the one who sent the notice. The inability to straightly claim the notice unlike the previous times was a major sign that the usually arrogant thief was innocent.

KID hummed as he casually raised the jewel up to expose it under the moonlight. "Huh, am I supposed to be frightened by that, Tantei-kun?"

"Not really. So somebody else sent the notice and now you're benefiting from it because you finally got the precious jewel in your hands. Are you not concerned at the consequences that will come after this heist?"

Conan was expecting a snarky remark but instead, he was met with silence. He gazed at KID, who stood frozen in front of him, still holding the Golden Jubilee under the moonlight.

"KID…?"

"This… I…"

Conan noticed that the hand KID was using to grip the jewel was slightly trembling. He also noticed that the jewel looked a bit different than usual after being exposed under the moonlight. _'Did it just turn… red? No wait, there's another jewel inside…? A doublet? A brown diamond coupled with the rarest color of diamond!?'_

KID was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The moment the moonlight hit the jewel, a smaller bloody red jewel appeared at the center of the Golden Jubilee. This is it. This is what he was searching for.

"…Pandora."

The mythical jewel that will grant immortality to one who desired it.

The jewel that Kaitou KID's been looking for.

And the jewel that led to Kuroba Toichi's death.

Of all the emotions currently swarming in his chest, he chose to laugh. He laughed, ignoring the incredulous looks that Conan was giving him. He laughed all of his sorrow, his exhaustion and his joy. He laughed because finally, Kaitou KID's overdue act is going on an end.

He clutched the jewel at his chest and covered his eyes with the other hand. "Finally…" KID took a deep breath. "Finally, I—"

Then Kaitou KID's statement was stopped by a bullet on his stomach.

* * *

Conan was puzzled when he heard KID's words. _'Why is KID acting like that?'_ And then his eyes widened when he heard the gunshot.

KID staggered backwards as he clutched both the jewel and his abdomen at the same time.

And it was at that moment that Conan realized that the bullet hit KID's stomach.

"KID!" Conan's eyes were darting at every direction, estimating the origin of the gunshot. It was from the 12 o' clock direction. A straight shot. He caught a glimpse of the hitman and he released his soccer ball and fired at the culprit. After he heard a thud, he started to rush at KID's side but stopped when he found the thief's white coat, unstained.

"Heh, Kevlar vests can really save your ass, eh?" KID straightened his posture while dusting off his coat.

Conan let out an exasperated laugh. "Not that I care but, I don't really want anyone dying at my feet today."

"How touching, Tantei-kun." The thief pocketed the jewel and fixed his top hat. He grabbed his card gun and twisted the barrel. "But it's best to assume that our guests aren't that happy with the outcome."

As if on cue, a group of seven men dressed in black suddenly swarmed in front of the thief and the shrunken detective. But that wasn't the icing on the cake.

"Once a survivor, always a survivor. Right, Kuroba Toichi?"

KID hissed. "Snake."

 _'Kuroba Toichi!? The famous magician? Didn't he die eight years ago?'_ Conan thought.

Snake appeared from the darkness but he wasn't alone.

"If I were you KID, I will put that toy down."

Conan and KID noticed that Snake was dragging an unconscious girl at the waist with a pistol aimed at her head.

A girl with unruly, long brown hair.

KID froze. His jaw dropped and his hand shook when he identified exactly who Snake was holding.

"A…oko?"

Conan was startled to hear KID speak with a voice so broken that he had to double check if it was really KID who muttered the word. To be honest, he was shocked too. The girl resembled Ran way too much but he knew that Kazuha and Ran were still behind the pillar, hidden from sight. The boy glanced at the thief and at that moment, he was sure that KID was more than horrified with what he had seen. But the horror was quickly replaced by blankness and the trembling of his hands lessened.

"What are you waiting for, KID?" Snake pressed the muzzle of the gun harshly on Aoko's temple to emphasize his point.

Kaitou KID dropped his card gun and kicked it towards Snake's direction. "Happy now? Why did you even bring Nakamori-keibu's daughter here? Your business is with me, right?"

Snake smirked. "My business is with the jewel that's inside your pocket."

 _'Of course, it's about Pandora. Always been about Pandora. First, my father. Now… Aoko. This damned stone is ought to be destroyed!'_ KID tried to muster a smirk, hoping that it looked genuine enough to fool the man. _'Pokerface, Kaito. Pokerface, damn it!'_

"Too bad, Snake. It isn't what you guys are looking for."

"Really? It doesn't seem like it to me when you were laughing a few moments ago."

"Why? Is it forbidden to laugh at my own _failure_?" KID shook his head. "This isn't Pandora, Snake. Now, release Nakamori-keibu's daughter. He might not be able to catch me, but I swear if his daughter doesn't come back to him alive, I'm not sure what will happen to your little… party." He eyed each of Snake's men to prove his point.

"You're still feigning innocence, I see. Didn't you know that I've already discovered who you are, _fake KID?_ "

Conan, who was silently observing the scene a few steps away, had his eyebrows raised to his head. _'What?'_

KID flinched. A drop of sweat rolled from his forehead to his chin as he gulped to ease his suddenly parched throat. "I don't think I understand you, Snake. Fake? Me? Are you kidding? Which part of this—" He gestured to himself. "—exactly is fake hmm?"

Snake lifted the hand holding Aoko by the waist and gripped her face hard that his nails were digging at her skin. KID felt relief when the man removed the gun on Aoko's temple but it was brief when that very same hand harshly pulled at the girl's hair to keep her upright. KID smothered a growl at the despicable man's mishandling of Aoko.

And yet even after all the pain, Aoko was still unconscious.

"It's easy you know? I had someone help me find everything about Kuroba Toichi. And from there, it was easy to figure out everything." Snake cackled. "And I found out that this girl, who was living beside your home, is the key in making you fully cooperate, see?"

 _'Wow, finally he grew some brains! He has the worst timing of all though!'_

At this, KID laughed. And for Conan, his laugh sounded very bitter. "Really, Snake? Nakamori-keibu's daughter? He hates KID's guts! Did you realize that she might have cooperated with you if you just asked? She's been waiting for a chance to take down KID, you know?"

Snake's smile was smug and KID didn't like it one bit. "Oh about this girl? Very strong. Struggled until the end. But of course, she didn't last. Do you want to know what was the last thing she said before she lost consciousness?

KID gritted his teeth.

"Not so confident now, are we? Well, since I am feeling generous tonight, I will tell you. An agent of mine visited this girl last night, and covered her nose and mouth with a cloth doused in ammonia. She fought against his captor's hold but the chemical was already sapping her energy away. The last thing she said?"

* * *

 _"Help me… Kaito…"_

 _And then her world turned into nothingness._

* * *

Conan was expecting the phantom thief to explode after Snake's story. But KID just closed his eyes and heavily sighed. When he opened his eyes, his face turned blank. Unreadable.

It was the perfect pokerface, if only his hands were not trembling in rage.

"You…" He emitted a low growl. "Bastar—"

And that was the moment when Conan thought that it was enough.

"Ne, ne, Oji-san!" Conan walked slowly towards Snake and KID tensed at what the kid was doing.

 _'What the fuck is he doing!?'_

It seemed like Snake completely missed Conan's presence from the very start. If not for the kid's interruption, he might not be able to even notice that there was a child in a possible battlefield.

"Is Onee-chan okay?" Conan blinked his eyes _innocent_ ly. "Are you going to send her to a doctor to get treated?" He even tilted his head to make himself more convincing.

"W-What is this brat doing here!?" Snake stuttered, obviously startled at Conan's remarks.

 _'He really is an idiot. Seriously? He didn't notice me after that long talk?'_ The shrunken detective inwardly laughed.

"Will you answer my questions, Oji-san? Onee-chan looks hurt you see? Ran-neechan told me that wounds should be treated immediately to prevent infection!" Conan frowned but instantly lit up as if a bright idea suddenly popped out in his head. "Ah! You want me to help you carry the poor Onee-chan? You need to support her legs!" The boy reached for Aoko's foot but was met with a gun instead.

"Brat, I don't know what you're trying to pull but I'm going to kill you if you mess with me."

Conan started to tear up. _'Thank God for giving me an actress as a mother!'_

"Uwah! Oji-san is so mean! I just wanted to help Oneechan but Oji-san is being a meanie to me!" He threw a tantrum and stomped his foot. He removed his glasses and buried his tear-streaked face in his arms.

It was obvious that Snake's men didn't know what to do. It was a kid. What harm can he do anyways?

Still pointing a gun at Conan, Snake clicked his tongue. "What the hell are you all doing!? He's just a kid! Get him away from here!"

Snake's men moved from their spots to seize the kid but stopped after a few steps when Conan suddenly stopped crying. His eyes were still covered by his arm and there were still tears on his cheeks but instead of a frown, they found a grin etched on the boy's face.

The silence that came afterwards was eerie. But it was broken when a single word was uttered by the supposed-to-be hysterical child.

 **"Go."**

A moment after Conan said the word, a gunshot was heard and Snake's gun was knocked off from his hand. KID took the opportunity to dash at the howling man to grab his card gun and to catch Aoko who was freed from her captor. He shot some cards at Snake's pants, sealing it on the floor, preventing the man's escape.

KID bit back a sarcastic grin. _'Goddamn it, Tantei-kun is one creepy kid! He has a damn sniper on his arsenal!? And he actually made a path for me while he was wailing his ass off earlier!?'_

Since Snake ordered his men to grab Conan, he was left unguarded and KID took advantage of it. After he secured Aoko, he shot cards at Conan's direction to prevent some of Snake's men from approaching the boy in order to return the favor but it seems that it wasn't needed anymore because together with Conan's endless arsenal of soccer balls, the Great High School Detective of the West was also back in action.

Conan grinned. "Took you long enough, Hattori!"

"Heh, Sorry 'bout that. The night's just great an' all that it lulled me to sleep. But it seems that stayin' awake was much better since—" Hattori whacked a lackey with a police baton that he picked up somewhere. "— I get to practice my skills with this!" And another one was out cold.

"You're so ridiculous, Hattori." One soccer ball hit a lackey on his face. "Ooh, they're getting lesser. Really, they should be ashamed that a kid could knock them out cold."

"May I remind ya that yer shoes are not normal?"

"Ah yeah, sorry." One soccer ball hit the last of Snake's men in his family jewels. "Whoops. But not sorry."

Hattori barked a laugh. "Geez Kudo, no mercy at all."

"Hey, I had to do that shameful acting so it's fair to be compensated about it."

Heiji chuckled as he scanned the area for more enemies. "Oh wow, no bad guys left."

"And I just received a confirmation that the remaining snipers were already taken care of." Conan tapped on his ear, revealing a small black earpiece.

"Geez Kudo, next time tell me these things beforehand okay? Ya always keep these things to yerself."

"Sorry about that, Hattori. I wasn't able to tell you because you guys went to school."

 _'Though Ran knew about the back-up plan.'_

"Oh yeah. Phonecalls is a no since we 'ave no idea on who's listenin'. But anyway, at least we're done cleanin' up here."

"Well, there's still that guy who was still whining about his hand."

Conan and Heiji approached the writhing Snake – _how fitting_ , Heiji thought with a laugh— and held their guard. KID was kneeling nearby, still pointing his card gun at the man while holding Aoko gently in his arms.

"Do you think that you've won, KID? Hah, I'll obtain that jewel no matter what!" Snake barked. "I still have men somewhere in the vicinity!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble but every single accomplice that you've brought here was already apprehended by the police." Conan smirked. "You lose, Oji-san."

"YOU BRAT—"

KID ignored the blabbering man and focused on the approaching detectives. Conan stopped in front of the thief and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"KID."

"Tantei-kun."

Conan looked at the battered Aoko. "…You already know where Ran-neechan is."

And KID didn't need to be told twice. He nodded his thanks at the detectives' direction then stood up, carrying the limp Aoko in the process. "Excuse me."

"Hah, now you're running away? What a coward, fake KID!" Snake goaded.

KID stopped. He shot the infuriating man with the coldest look that he could muster then continued his walk towards Ran and Kazuha.

* * *

Ran and Kazuha were watching the events unfold in silence. Both girls released a relieved sigh when they saw KID grab the poor, battered girl from the one named Snake.

Kazuha was also thankful that Heiji was able to wake up at the most crucial moment and helped Conan in fending the bad guys off.

Ran on the other hand, shook her head while giggling. _'So that was his plan? Geez, he's lucky that it still worked even though it was probably not his enemies this time.'_

The girls noticed that the fight was finally over and only one enemy was left— the one who was still stuck in place because of KID's cards that skewered his slacks on the floor.

Conan and KID exchanged some words and after that, Ran and Kazuha were a bit startled when they noticed that the phantom thief was walking towards their direction. He stopped in front of them.

"Ran-san."

"KID-san."

Kazuha was confused with what was happening but shoved down her doubts when she saw the extent of the limp girl's injuries.

"KID-han! Is she a'right?"

The thief smiled at Kazuha. "Yeah, she's still breathing. Thanks for the concern, Ojou-san." KID kneeled in front of the girls, careful in moving Aoko down. "Ran-san, you can consider this as a favor but…"

Ran waved her hand in dismissal. "It's okay, KID-san. We'll take care of her, I promise."

"…Thank you."

KID gently placed Aoko's head on Ran's lap and laid her body on the floor. Then, he removed one of his gloves to caress the unconscious girl's cheek. Ran and Kazuha did not miss the tender look in the thief's eyes along with the promise that he whispered to the unconscious girl.

"After this, I'll tell you everything, Aoko. So please hang on." He removed his cape and draped it over Aoko. "You might hate me afterwards but if it keeps you alive then it's okay."

The two girls smiled at each other.

"Dun worry KID-han, we're perfectly capable of protecting 'er so go an' finish yer business already!" Kazuha said.

Ran smiled. "Kazuha's right, KID-san. Aoko-san will be taken care of. Go."

KID softly laughed and bowed in front of the girls. "It would not be right if I did not respect the wishes of these two fine young ladies so yes, I will go now and leave the sleeping princess with her two protectors. I am confident that she will be guarded well."

"Ya better believe it, KID-han!"

"KID-san?"

"Ran-san?"

Ran smiled at the thief. "I can tell that Aoko's a very important person to you and… I feel that she will not hate you as long as you tell her the truth."

KID's eyes widened as he saw the understanding in Ran's face. He flashed a bitter smile instead. "She shouldn't."

And with a final bow, Kaitou KID returned to where Snake was to finish Kaitou KID's goal once and for all.

* * *

It was quiet.

As KID approached, he saw that Conan and Heiji just finished tying up Snake's hands and feet. He noticed that the man had a soccer ball imprint on his face and figured out that the kid had knocked his nemesis out.

"Geez Tantei-kun, do you ever run out of those things?"

Conan rolled his eyes. "I just did."

"Huh, okay. And oh, thanks for wrapping up my gift very nicely." KID smirked.

"Don't get the wrong idea. After you're done with him, I probably have a few questions for him so please try not to push him into a coma." The boy stated flatly.

KID hummed and crouched in front of the unconscious Snake. He poked his face once while having a blank look on his face. "To be honest, I just wanted _this_ —" Another poke. "—man in jail. He had a lot of wrongdoings, you know? Killing my old man, included. And oh, plus making Aoko his personal punching bag." He grabbed Pandora from his pocket and exposed it under the moonlight once more. "Just for this."

The jewel turned blood red once more, spots decorating the floor like a spotlight.

Conan and Heiji were silent but both were shocked at what KID was revealing. They also realized that _Aoko_ must have been the unconscious girl earlier.

KID stood up and kicked Snake hard on the face. The man was suddenly awake, thrashing when he realized that his movements were completely constricted by the ropes tied to his limbs. He sent a colorful string of curses towards his captors especially KID.

"Fuck you, Kuroba! Do you think you'll get away with this? I have people who can kill your whole family! So if you want to stay alive, untie me and hand me Pandora!"

KID dryly laughed. "Don't make threats that you already executed, Snake. Good luck in trying to find my mother, though. She isn't a normal person, you know?"

"Don't underestimate _us_." Snake hissed.

"But you're making it hard for me, Snake."

Heiji fought an incoming snort and he was barely successful. However, Conan's face remained passive.

"You know I could expose your true identity to these young detectives. You will be in jail in no time!"

KID stared flatly at the smug-faced Snake. "Really? That's your last resort? Did you know that they could totally expose me anytime with all the information you've blabbered tonight?" He juggled Pandora using his right hand then tossed the jewel on his other hand. He gripped it tightly and brandished a hammer out of nowhere.

"Hah, so are you going to hammer me to death now, KID?" Snake's voice was laced with sarcasm.

KID smiled. "On the contrary Snake, you're not the one who's going to be hammered tonight."

He placed the jewel on the floor and slammed the hammer down, breaking Pandora into small, glittering pieces.

Snake let out at agonizing howl before he collapsed on the floor due to Conan's tranquilizer dart. KID raised his eyebrow at the child.

The boy shrugged. "Just making sure that he doesn't die of a stroke or something."

Conan put his wrist down, and together with Heiji, they watched KID stand up and bow to his audience for the very last time.

And finally, Phantom Thief KID's act is complete.

* * *

 **Belated Happy Birthday, Kaito Kuroba!**

 **Uh okay hahaha here. Longer chapter... like 6.8k words or sth haha I didn't find a good point to cut the chap sooo yeah.**

 **This fic was supposed to be 10 chaps only but well... i just had to add in some plot. dang it richa**

 **since pandora's destroyed now, kid can officially enjoy his retirement lol. Rest in peace, papa Toichi.**

 **next chap will be wrapping up the heist + other shenanigans**

 **Thanks for reading! :D**

 **(Sorry for making my AN's shitty every time hahaha)**


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